THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


Y  U  S  E  F; 


OR 


THE  JOURNEY  OF  THE  FBANGI. 


J.    ROSS    BROWNE, 

LUT1IOR  01  ''ETCHINGS  OF  A  WHALING-CRUISE,"  «  HEPOKT  OF  THE  DEBATE 

I»   TUB  CONVKNTION  OF  CALIFORNIA,"  AND  "CRUSOE   LIFE:    A  *AER, 

TIVE  OF   ADVENTURES  IN  JUAN  FERNANDE7.  " 


Eltustratfons. 


NEW    YORK: 
l.»  *  R  P  E  R    &    BROTHERS,    P  U  n  L  I  S  II  E  II  S, 

SI9&    331    PEARL    «  T  R  K  E  T. 
FBANKLIif     RQUARB. 

1872. 


BY   J.  ROSS   BROWNE. 


AN  AMERICAN  FAMILY  IN  GERMANY.  Illustrated  by  the 
Author.  12mo,  Cloth,  $2  00. 

THE  LAND  OF  THOR.  Illustrated  by  the  Author.  12mo, 
Cloth,  $2  00. 

CRUSOE'S  ISLAND :  A  Ramble  in  the  Footsteps  of  Alexander 
Selkirk.  With  Sketches  of  Adventure  in  California  and  Washoe. 
Illustrations.  12mo,  Cloth,  $1  75. 

YUSEF ;  or,  The  Journey  of  the  Frangi.  A  Crusade  in  the  East. 
With  Illustrations.  12mo,  Cloth,  $1  75. 


PUBLISHED  BY  HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  NEW  YORK. 


Eutered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  fifty-three,  by  HAKPEB  &  BROTHERS,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of 
the  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


College 
Library 


45 


TO  THE 

HON.  ROBERT  J.  WALKER, 

AS    A    TOKEN    OF    ADMIRATION    FOE    HIS    GENIUS    AS    A    STATESM**. 
ESTEEM    FOR    HIS    VIRTUES    IN    PRIVATE    LIFE,   AND    GRAT- 
ITUDE  FOR    HIS    MANY    ACTS    OF    KINDNESS 
TO    THE    AUTHOR, 

THIS    VOLUME 

Snsrrikii. 


PREFACE. 


AN  essayist  in  the  Reflector  tells  us  that  "  Colum- 
bus can  not  be  more  famous  than  a  man  who  describes 
the  Temple  of  Jerusalem."  Now,  although  I  have  a 
great  desire  to  be  as  famous  as  Columbus,  it  is  due  to 
the  reader  to  state  at  the  outset  that  he  will  find  very 
little  about  temples  in  this  volume.  The  only  ground 
upon  which  I  can  aspire  to  such  a  distinction  is,  in 
having  avoided,  as  far  as  practicable,  every  thing  that 
has  given  fame  to  those  who  have  preceded  me.  If 
there  be  any  important  fact,  therefore,  in  scriptural  or 
classical  history,  that  the  reader  is  disappointed  in  not 
finding  in  these  pages,  I  beg  that  he  will  adopt  the 
suggestion  of  my  friend  and  fellow-traveler,  Dr.  Men- 
doza,  and  "  remain  tranquil  for  the  present."  There  is 
no  telling  what  the  'future  may  bring  forth,  or  to  what 
extremes  of  research  a  man  may  be  driven  by  the 
force  of  circumstances. 

Part  of  this  narrative  was  originally  written  in  the 
form  of  letters  to  the  "  National  Intelligencer,"  chiefly 
for  the  amusement  of  my  friends  in  Washington.  The 
style  was  rather  more  familiar  than  the  usual  contri- 
butions to  that  journal,  and  certainly  more  so  than  I 
would  have  chosen  to  adopt,  had  I  thought  seriously  at 


.v  PREFACE. 

the  time  of  publishing  the  letters  in  book  form.  That 
T  considered  it  probable  I  might  make  use  of  the  ma- 
terial at  some  future  period,  I  frankly  admit ;  but  in 
looking  over  my  notes  and  the  mass  of  sketches  thus 
brought  together,  the  task  of  re- writing,  and  making 
any  thing  of  them  in  the  way  of  a  serious  work  on 
Palestine,  seemed  too  formidable  to  be  undertaken  by 
one  who  has  scarcely  yet  commenced  his  travels. 

Such  as  the  sketches  are,  I  have  chosen  to  put  them 
together  in  the  form  of  a  connected  narrative ;  and 
they  arc  now  presented  to  the  public,  with  such  illus- 
trations from  my  own  portfolio,  drawn  on  wood  by 
competent  artists,  as  I  thought  would  give  them  any 
additional  value.  , 

It  will  be  seen  that  I  have  not  felt  it  to  be  my  duty 
to  make  a  desponding  pilgrimage  through  the  Holy 
Land  ;  for  upon  a  careful  perusal  of  the  Scriptures,  I 
can  find  nothing  said  against  a  cheerful  frame  of  mind. 
If  there  be  any  person,  however,  who  may  think  that 
a  traveler  has  no  right  to  be  lively  in  that  part  of  the 
world,  I  beg  that  he  will  suspend  his  judgment  till  I 
visit  Jerusalem  again  ;  in  which  event  he  may  depend 
upon  it  I  shall  use  every  exertion  to  be  depressed  in 
spirits,  and  produce  something  uncommonly  heavy 
and  substantial. 

In  regard  to  the  apparent  egotism  of  writing  so 
much  about  one's  self,  I  can  not  do  better  than  quote 
the  words  of  Thomas  de  Quincey :  "  It  is  not  offered  as 
deriving  any  part  of  what  interest  it  may  have  from 
myself  as  the  person  concerned  in  it.  If  the  partic- 
ular experience  selected  is  really  interesting,  in  virtue 
af  its  own  circumstances,  then  it  matters  not  to  whom 
it  happened.  Let  him  [the  reader]  read  the  sketch  aa 


PREFACE.  v 

belonging  to  one  who  wishes  to  be  profoundly  anony- 
mous." In  this  view,  should  there  be  any  thing  that 
strikes  the  reader  as  very  good  in  the  volume,  he  can 
not  do  better  than  to  look  at  the  title-page,  and  give 
credit  accordingly ;  but  where  it  appears  to  him  that 
there  is  any  thing  very  bad  in  it,  he  will  greatly  oblige 
me  by  regarding  it  as  the  production  of  the  gentleman 
who  figures  in  the  conversations  with  Yusef. 

Written  without  any  other  purpose  than  that  of  de- 
scribing faithfully  what  fell  under  my  own  observation, 
it  may  be  that  the  design  is  not  sufficiently  apparent ; 
yet  if,  on  the  whole,  from  the  general  tenor,  a  more 
liberal  feeling  should  be  encouraged  respecting  the 
customs  and  prejudices  of  the  uncivilized  world,  and 
a  clearer  sense  of  our  own  weaknesses,  the  book  will 
not  have  been  written  in  vain.  There  may  be  a  moral 
also  in  the  circumstances  under  which  the  journey  was 
performed. 

Ten  years  ago,  after  having  rambled  all  over  the 
United  States — six  hundred  miles  of  the  distance  on 
foot,  and  sixteen  hundred  in  a  flat-boat — I  set  out 
from  Washington  with  fifteen  dollars,  to  make  a  tour 
of  the  East.  I  got  as  far  east  as  New  York,  where 
the  last  dollar  and  the  prospect  of  reaching  Jerusalem 
came  to  a  conclusion  at  the  same  time.  Sooner  than 
return  home,  after  having  made  so  good  a  beginning, 
I  shipped  before  the  mast  in  a  whaler,  and  did  some 
service,  during  a  voyage  to  the  Indian  Ocean,  in  the 
way  of  scrubbing  decks  and  catching  whales.  A 
mutiny  occurred  at  the  island  of  Zanzibar,  where  I 
sold  myself  out  of  the  vessel  for  thirty  dollars  and  a 
chest  of  old  clothes ;  and  spent  three  months  very 
pleasantly  at  the  consular  residence,  in  the  vicinity  of 


vi  PREFACE. 

his  Highness  the  Imaum  of  Muscat.  OD  my  return 
to  Washington,  I  labored  hard  for  four  ye?,rs  on  Bank 
statistics  and  Treasury  reports,  by  which  time,  in  order 
to  take  the  new  administration  by  the  fore-lock,  I  de- 
termined to  start  for  the  East  again.  The  only  chance 
I  had  of  getting  there  was,  to  accept  of  an  appointment 
as  third  lieutenant  in  the^  Revenue  service,  and  go  to 
California,  and  thence  to  Oregon,  where  I  was  to  re- 
port for  duty.  On  the  voyage  to  Rio,  ft  difficulty 
occurred  between  the  captain  and  the  passengers  of 
the  vessel,  and  we  were  detained  there  nearly  a  month. 
I  took  part  with  the  rebels,  because  I  believed  them  to 
be  right.  The  captain  was  deposed  by  the  American 
consul,  and  the  command  of  the  vessel  was  offered  to 
me ;  but  having  taken  an  active  part  against  the  late 
captain,  I  could  not  with  propriety  accept  the  offer.  A 
whaling  captain,  who  had  lost  his  vessel  near  Buenos 
Ayres,  was  placed  in  the  command,  and  we  proceeded 
on  our  voyage  round  Cape  Horn.  After  a  long  and 
dreary  passage  we  made  the  island  of  Juan  Fernandez. 
In  company  with  ten  of  the  passengers,  I  left  the  ship 
seventy  miles  out  at  sea,  and  went  ashore  in  a  small 
boat,  for  the  purpose  of  gathering  up  some  tidings 
in  regard  to  my  old  friend  Robinson  Crusoe.  What 
befell  us  on  that  memorable  expedition  is  fully  set 
forth  in  a  narrative  recently  published  in  "Harper's 
Magazine."  Subsequently  we  spent  some  time  in  Lima, 
u  the  City  of  the  Kings."  It  was  my  fortune  to  arrive 
penniless  in  California,  and  to  find,  by  way  of  consola- 
tion, that  a  reduction  had  been  made  by  Congress  in 
the  number  of  revenue  vessels,  and  that  my  services 
in  that  branch  of  public  business  were  no  longer  re- 
quired. While  thinking  seriously  of  taking  in  washing 


PREFACE.  vii 

at  six  dollars  a  dozen,  or  devoting  the  remainder  of  my 
days  to  mule-driving  as  a  profession,  I  was  unexpect- 
edly elevated  to  the  position  of  post-office  agent ;  and 
went  about  the  country  for  the  purpose  of  making  post- 
masters. I  only  made  one — the  post-master  of  Sari 
Jose.  After  that,  the  Convention  called  by  Greneral 
Riley  met  at  Monterey,  and  I  was  appointed  to  report 
the  debates  on  the  formation  of  the  State  Constitution. 
For  this  I  received  a  sum  that  enabled  me  to  return  to 
Washington,  and  start  for  the  East  again.  There  was 
luck  in  the  third  attempt,  for,  as  may  be  seen,  I  got 
there  at  last,  having  thus  visited  the  four  continents, 
and  traveled  by  sea  and  land  a  distance  of  a  hundred 
thousand  miles,  or  more  than  four  times  round  the 
world,  on  the  scanty  earnings  of  my  own  head  and  hands. 
If  there  be  any  moral  in  the  book,  therefore,  it  is 
this :  that  there  is  no  great  difficulty  in  traveling  all 
over  the  world,  when  one  sets  about  it  with  a  deter- 
mination to  do  it,  and  keeps  trying  till  he  succeeds ; 
that  there  is  no  position  in  life  disreputable  or  degrad- 
ing while  self-respect  remains ;  and  nothing  impossible 
that  has  ever  been  done  by  man.  Let  him  who  thirsts 
for  knowledge  go  out  upon  the  broad  face  of  the  earth, 
and  he  will  find  that  it  is  not  out  of  books  alone  that 
he  can  get  it ;  let  him  make  use  of  the  eyes  that  G-od 
has  given  him,  and  he  will  see  more  in  the  world's 
unwritten  revelations  than  the  mind  of  man  hath  con. 
ceived. 

"  Our  doubts  are  traitors, 
And  make  us  lose  the  good  we  oft  might  win 
By  fearing  to  attempt." 

J.  R.  B. 

"WASHINGTON,  B.C.,  February,  1853. 


CONTENTS. 


A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

PAOX 

CHAPTER  I. — PALERMO 13 

CHAPTER  II. — CATACOMBS  OF  PALERMO 20 

CHAPTER  III.— JOURNEY  TO  CATANIA 28 

CHAPTER  IV. — ASCENT  OF  MOUNT  ETNA 35 

CHAPTER  V.— THE  CRATER 41 

CHAPTER  VI. — A  QUARREL  WITH  THE  ANCIENTS 53 

CHAPTER  VII. — ON  THE  ROAD  TO  SYRACUSE 58 

CHAPTER  VIII.— SYRACUSE 66 

CHAPTER  IX.— TAORMINA 73 

A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

CHAPTER  X.— THE  BREACH 80 

CHAPTER  XL— ATHENS 85 

CHAPTER  XIL— SYRA 101 

CHAPTER  XIIL— SMYRNA 107 

CHAPTER  XIV. — CONSTANTINOPLE., 114 

CHAPTER  XV. — A  VISIT  TO  THE  BAZAARS 129 

CHAPTER  XVL— TURKISH  BEAUTIES 141 

CHAPTER  XVII. — MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS 149 

CHAPTER  XVIU. — BABEL  REVIVED 164 

CHAPTER  XIX.— THE  ENGLISH  TOURIST 1 C7 

CHAPTER  XX.— THE  SYRIAN  DRAGOMAN 174 

CHAPTER  XXL — MY  HOESE  SALADIN 182 

CHAPTER  XXII. — THE  ARAB  STORY  TELLER 192 

CHAPTER  XXIII. — THE  CEDARS  OF  LEBANON 197 

A* 


x  C3NTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXIV.— BAALBEK 20fl 

CHAPTER  XXV.— YUSEF  DANCES  THE  RAAS 218 

CHAPTER  XXVL— A  SOCIAL  CHAT  WITH  YUSEF 227 

CHAPTER  XXVII.— THE  GREEK  BISHOP 232 

CHAPTER  XXVIII.— THE  ARAB  MULETEER  240 

CHAPTER  XXIX.— FROM  BAALBEK  TO  DAMASCUS 244 

CHAPTER  XXX.— DAMASCUS 254 

CHAPTER  XXXI. — BATHS  OF  DAMASCUS 265 

CHAPTER  XXXII. — THE  AMERICAN  MISSIONARIES 272 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. — THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  MULETEERS 276 

CHAPTER  XXXIV.— GRAND  SECRET  OF  HUMAN  HAPPINESS..    285 

CHAPTER  XXXV.— THE  MILL  OF  MALAHA 296 

CHAPTER  XXXVI.— THE  REBEL  SHEIK 306 

CHAPTER  XXXVII.— THE  SYRIAN  HORSES 310 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII.— THE  SEA  OF  GALILEE 319 

CHAPTER  XXXIX— JOURNEY  TO  NAZARETH  .'.' 326 

CHAPTER  XL.— NAZARETH '. 330 

CHAPTER  XLL— A  GAZELLE  HUNT 335 

CHAPTER  XLIL— DJENIN 343 

CHAPTER  XLIII. — ADVENTURE  WITH  THE  SAMARITANS 348 

CHAPTER  XLIV.— NABLOUS  . .  . . 352 

CHAPTER  XLV.— A  STRIKING  SCENE 354 

CHAPTER  XLVI.— JERUSALEM 359 

CHAPTER  XL VII. — ARAB  GUARD  TO  THE  DEAD  SEA  .......   366 

CHAPTER  XL VIII. — THE  DEAD  SEA  AND  THE  JORDAN 371 

CHAPTER  XLIX. — THRILLING  ALARM  IN  JERICHO 378 

CHAPTER  L. — CHRISTMAS  NIGHT  IN  BETHLEHEM 387 

CHAPTER  LI. — CROSSING  THE  RIVERS 391 

CHAPTER  LIL— THE  DESOLATE  CITY 394 

CHAPTER  LIIL— A  SERIOUS  CHARGE 398 

CHAPTER  LIV. — AN  EXTRAORDINARY  AFFAIR 404 

CHAPTER  LV.— RISE,  DECLINE,  AND  FALL  OF  YUSEF  BADRA  410 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

[FROM  SKETCHES  BY  THE  AUTHOR.] 


EASTERN  RUINS.     Frontispiece.  PAa- 

THE  MUMMJES 21 

CATACOMBS  OF  PALERMO 24 

SICILIAN  MONK 33 

CASA  DEGL'  INGLESA 44 

DESCENT  OF  MOUNT  ETNA 51 

SICILIAN  POSTILLION 62 

SICILIAN  GENDARMES 64 

SICILIAN  BEGGARS 68 

COUNSEL  FOR  THE  ACCUSED 75 

AMPHITHEATRE  OF  TAORMINA   . . 78 

CONVENT  NEAR  ATHENS •. 97 

SMYRNA  FROM  THE  ANCHORAGE 107 

PILGRIMS  ON  SHIPBOARD 116 

A  BUSINESS  TRANSACTION 127 

THE  HAMIL 131 

SHOPKEEPERS 138 

TURKISH  BEAUTY 143 

GENERAL  VIEW  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE 152 

THE  DANCING  DERVISHES 155 

THE  HOWLING  DERVISHES 158 

ENGLISH  TRAVELER  RECOGNIZING  A  VEKUS  AND  HERCULES...   168 

TOWN  OF  RHODES 171 

VIEW  IN  LARNICA 172 

VUSEF 178 

SALADIN 185 

SALADIN  IN  ACTION 188 

BEN-HOZAIN 192 

CASTLE  OF  DJBEL 201 

COLUMN  IN  THE  DESERT 210 

YUSEF    DANCING    THE    RA AS fc.     223 


xii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

THE  ARAB  MULETEER 240 

A  GENTLEMAN  OF  ELEGANT  LEISURE 243 

ANCIENT  ARCH  IN  DAMASCUS 260 

IBRAHIM 261 

BATHS  OP  DAMASCUS   268 

TAKING  IT  EAST - 285 

THE  MILL  OF  MALAHA 303 

TOKINA 318 

BATHS  OF  TIBERIAS 325 

JERUSALEM 359 

MOHAMMEDAN  SEPULCHRE 363 

PILGRIMS  TO  JERUSALEM " 367 

THE  ARAB  GUARD 370 

CROSSING  A  RIVER 391 

GREEK  BISHOP 39 

VILLAGE  OF  EL  MUKHALID 394 

KAISARIYEH 397 

RUINS  NEAR  TANTURA 403 

THK  END  or  YUSEF 421 


Y  U  S  E  F. 

A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY, 
CHAPTER  I. 

PALERMO. 

IT  was  rather  early  in  the  season  to  start  for  the  East 
September  was  not  yet  over.  I  had  thoroughly  explored 
Naples  and  the  neighborhood ;  and  the  only  question  was. 
how  to  dispose  of  the  fine  weather.  Lounging  about  the 
quay  one  afternoon  it  occurred  to  me  that  a  trip  to  Palermo 
would  be  just  the  thing.  There  were  signs  pasted  up  every 
where  of  an  immense  steamer,  of  wonderful  horse-power, 
bound  for  that  very  port.  I  walked  into  the  first  Bureau  (in 
Naples,  every  office  is  a  Bureau)  :  the  same  large  steamer 
was  over  the  door  under  full  way,  with  a  heavy  head  of 
steam,  for  Palermo.  The  name  of  the  steamer  was  printed 
on  the  paddle-box  in  big  golden  letters ;  it  was  the  Ercolano. 
When  I  told  the  gentleman,  who  was  waxing  the  points  of 
his  mustache  behind  the  counter,  that  I  wanted  a  passage  in 
the  Ercolano,  he  shook  his  head  despondingly,  and  applied 
some  more  wax  to  one  of  the  points.  This  induced  me  to  go 
out  again  and  look  at  the  sign.  There  certainly  was  no  mis- 
take about  the  name,  and  I  endeavored  to  make  him  under- 
stand that  it  was  a  ticket  I  wanted  for  a  passage  in  the 
steamer  represented  upon  that  sign.  He  applied  some  addi- 
tional wax  to  the  other  point  of  his  mustache,  shook  his  head 
despondingly  again,  and,  as  well  ,as  I  could  understand  him, 
said  he  was  very  sorry  ;  that  he  didn't  know  any  thing  about 


14  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY 

such  a  steamer ;  perhaps  it  was  at  number  seventy-one,  twa 
doors  ahove.  I  went  into  number  seventy-one,  two  doors 
above,  and  was  told  by  a  small  but  very  imposing  gentleman, 
with  a  brass  band  on  his  cap,  that  seventy-one  was  the  bu- 
reau of  the  French  steamer;  it  didn't  go  to  Palermo  ;  it  went 
to  Marseilles,  and  he  would  be  very  happy  to  have  me  land- 
ed there  ;  perhaps  the  Bureau  of  the  Neapolitan  steamer  was 
number  seventy-six,  which  I  would  find  somewhere  on  the 
same  street,  about  eight  or  ten  doors  above — or  below.  I 
walked  up  and  down  a  long  time,  till  I  was  fortunate  enough 
to  find  number  seventy-six.  The  gentleman  in  that  Bureau 
was  smoking  a  cigar,  which  he  continued  to  smoke  in  silence 
for  two  minutes  ;  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he  calmly 
removed  it,  and  said  in  reply  to  my  question  concerning  the 
Ercolano,  that  there  was  such  a  steamer ;  it  was  called  the 
Ercolano ;  it  was  a  Neapolitan  steamer ;  it  was  bound  for 
Palermo ;  the  proper  place  to  apply  for  passage  was  at  the 
Neapolitan  Bureau.  He  was  not  exactly  certain  where  the 
Neapolitan  Bureau  was,  but  thought  it  was  number  sixty- 
nine  ;'  that  was  his  impression — sixty-nine.  I  told  him  that 
I  had  already  applied  at  sixty-nine  ;  to  which  he  responded 
by  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders,  a  pinch  of  snuff,  and  some  strange 
contortions  of  the  face,  as  if  he  had  accidentally  swallowed 
the  snuff-box.  It  may  have  been  that  my  manner  of  speak- 
ing the  Italian  was  not  clear,  or  that  my  understanding  of 
the  Neapolitan  was  less  so  ;  at  all  events  I  could  make  no- 
thing of  these  signs,  so  I  returned  to  Bureau  sixty-nine.  There 
were  some  other  officers  in  sixty-nine  this  time ;  and,  after 
some  consultation,  they  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  it  was 
the  Bureau  of  the  Neapolitan  steamer  for  Palermo.  I  offered 
money  for  my  passage  ;  but  they  refused  to  take  it,  or  to  give 
me  a  ticket  without  it ;  they  said  something  else  was  neces- 
sary, my  passport  and  certain  vises  and  cartes.  Next  morn- 
ing I  got  my  passport  and  the  vises  and  cartes,  and  they  still 
refused  to  give  me  a  ticket.  Certain  other  vises  and  cartes 
from  the  Polizia  were  necessary.  I  went  to  the  Polizia  and 
got  certain  other  vises  and  Cartes,  and  they  still  refused  to  let 
me  have  a  ticket ;  a  certain  word  was  omitted  in  one  of  the 


PALERMO.  15 

vises.  I  went  all  over  the  city  of  Naples  in  search  of  all  the 
authorities  that  were  concerned  in  the  insertion  of  that  word, 
and  eventually  got  it  written  down  in  black  and  white,  with 
all  the  additional  stamps  that  were  necessary  to  give  it  val- 
idity. This  time  they  reluctantly  conceded  that  the  passport 
was  vised  in  due  form ;  that  all  the  documents  were  correct ; 
that  I  could  get  a  ticket  hy  waiting  a  while  until  the  officers 
were  served.  The  Bureau  was  quite  filled  with  Neapolitan 
officers,  who  were  all  very  much  covered  up  with  red  cloth 
epaulets,  tin  buttons,  brass  sword-cases,  and  general  em- 
broidery. I  waited  at  least  an  hour,  and  then,  by  the  sheer 
force  of  perseverance,  prevailed  upon  the  gentleman  who  was 
engaged  in  making  porcupine  quills  of  his  mustache,  to  cease 
his  labors  one  moment,  and  give  me  a  ticket.  All  the  harm 
I  wish  that  man  is,  that  these  quills  may  be  broken  off  before 
his  personal  beauty  produces  such  an  effect  as  to  cause  any  un- 
fortunate lady  to  marry  him ;  for  I  am  certain  if  ever  he  gets 
a  wife,  they  will  run  her  through  the  eyes  in  less  than  a  week. 
On  the  30th  day  of  September,  1851,  in  virtue  of  all  these 
proceedings,  I  left  Naples,  in  the  Neapolitan  steamer,  foi 
Palermo.  The  Ercolano  was  a  good  specimen  of  the  Italian 
steam  service.  It  had  nothing  like  the  amount  of  horse- 
power that  I  expected  from  the  bills ;  nor  was  it  in  any  re- 
spect a  good  steamer ;  but  it  afforded  an  excellent  example 
of  what  a  nation  already  distinguished  in  ancient  art,  may 
attain  in  the  way  of  modern  art  by  intercourse  with  less 
classical  countries.  Without  any  exception  it  was  the  small- 
est, and  dirtiest,  and  worst-contrived  craft,  to  be  moved  by 
steam  and  paddles,  that  it  was  ever  my  fortune  to  behold. 
There  were  on  board  two  hundred  and  fifty  Neapolitan  sol- 
diers and  officers,  'on  their  way  to  Sicily,  for  the  better  pro- 
tection of  that  remote  portion  of  the  Neapolitan  kingdom. 
After  we  got  well  out  to  sea,  there  came  on  a  gale,  and  every 
one  of  these  soldiers,  and  every  officer  who  commanded  them, 
fell  dreadfully  sea-sick  ;  and  thus  two  hundred  and  fifty  fight- 
ing characters,  armed  to  the  teeth,  were  in  the  brief  space  of 
a  few  hours  cast  down  and  mixed  together  upon  the  decks, 
at  the  mercy  of  any  bftdy  who  chose  to  attack  them.  I 


itt  A  G1RA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

verily  believe  that  had  I  been  a  person  of  blood-thirsty  dis- 
position I  could  have  slain  them  all  with  a  bodkin.  Such; 
however,  was  not  my  nature.  The  poor  little  fellows  looked 
so  forlorn,  so  small  and  dirty,  so  sorry  they  were  going  to  an 
unknown  country,  twenty  hours  distant  from  their  native 
land ;  so  unlike  men  who  would  ever  kill  any  body,  that  I 
was  exceedingly  moved,  and  took  occasion,  when  the  cap- 
tain of  the  boat  was  not  looking,  to  give  one  of  them  a  pinch 
of  snuff.  My  natural  impulse  was  to  give  them  snuff  all 
round,  but  they  were  so  piled  up  over  the  decks,  the  heads, 
and  heels,  and  mustaches,  and  arms,  and  legs  in  such  a 
state  of  confusion  that  it  was  utterly  impossible  to  move 
without  stumbling  over  a  misplaced  limb,  and  falling  upon  a 
faick  man. 

Thank  heaven,  the  hills  of  Bagheria  at  last  hove  in  sight. 
T  was  glad  enough  to  see  land,  as  well  on  my  own  account 
as  that  of  the  soldiers,  who  certainly  could  not  have  survived 
the  horrors  of  the  sea  another  night.  The  voyage  from  Na- 
ples to  Palermo  is  usually  performed  in  twenty  hours.  Owing 
to  the  rough  weather,  and  the  want  of  additional  horse-power, 
it  took  us  twenty-four.  We  were  six  hours  more  getting 
ashore,  which  made  it  thirty.  The  reason  of  this  delay  was. 
that  the  soldiers  had  to  be  landed  first.  Then  the  captain 
had  to  go  ashore  and  have  a  talk  with  the  officers  of  the 
port ;  then  he  had  to  corne  on  board  again  and  walk  up  and 
down  the  deck  and  smoke  his  cigar ;  then  the  passengers 
had  to  get  certain  cartes,  and  some  of  them,  who  were  going 
beyond  Palermo,  their  passports  under  certain  restrictions ; 
then  the  officer  of  the  customs  had  to  come  on  board  and 
have  a  talk  with  the  captain ;  then  he  had  to  go  on  shore 
again,  and  the  health  officer  had  to  come  on  board ;  then, 
after  all  the  officers  were  done  going  on  shore  and  coming 
on  board,  the  baggage  had  to  be  properly  distributed  ;  and, 
after  the  baggage  was  distributed,  and  every  thing  appar- 
ently all  right,  there  was  an  additional  delay  of  two  hours 
for  the  purpose  of  showing  the  passengers  that  they  were  in 
the  hands  of  persons  high  in  authority,  who  would  permit 
them  to  land,  as  a,  matter  of  favor,  whenever  it  became  ap- 


PALERMO.  •        17 

paicnt  that  the  public  interests  would  allow  such  a  course  to 
be  pursued. 

Next  to  Naples,  the  harbor  of  Palermo  is  perhaps  the 
most  beautiful  in  the  Mediterranean.  Indeed,  many  con- 
sider it  quite  equal  in  picturesque  effect  to  Naples ;  for, 
although  it  has  not  Mount  Vesuvius,  or  the  breadth  and  ex- 
tent of  shore  line,  yet  the  eye  comprehends  more  at  a  glance, 
and  a  nearer  approach  is  permitted  without  destroying  the 
scenic  beauty  of  the  mountains  and  villas.  At  a  sufficient 
distance  to  embrace  a  complete  view  of  Naples  and  its  en- 
virons, the  city  is  almost  lost ;  but  the  finest  view  of  Paler- 
mo is  just  opposite  the  town,  within  a  mile  or  two.  The 
harbor  forms  a  beautiful  crescent,  surrounded  by  hills  covered 
with  verdure  throughout  the  greater  part  of  the  year ;  villas 
and  orange  groves  adorn  every  prominent  point ;  rich  gar- 
dens lie  along  the  shores ;  vessels  of  many  nations  float  sleep- 
ily on  the  smooth  waters  of  the  bay ;  fishing-boats,  crowded 
with  sunburnt  crews,  ply  merrily  through  the  flashing  brine ; 
and  along  the  wharves  groups  of  swarthy  sailors,  quite  like 
the  piratical-looking  fellows  you  see  in  the  French  prints,  are 
constantly  lounging,  smoking,  chatting  in  strange  tongues, 
and  casting  sly  glances  at  the  Sicilian  belles,  who  look  like 
operatic  chorus-singers ;  and  then  there  are  pale  Italians 
without  number,  and  occasional  Greeks;  with  a  sprinkling 
of  American  and  fresh-looking  English  captains,  to  give  va- 
riety and  animation  to  the  scene.  There  is  an  aspect  of 
business  activity  about  the  streets  and  shops  of  Palermo,  not 
a  little  cheering  after  one  has  been  mouldering  for  some  time 
among  old  ruins  and  cities  of  by-gone  prosperity.  Yet  Paler- 
mo is  not  what  it  might  be  under  a  judicious  system  of  gov- 
ernment. I  hold  myself  in  readiness  to  apologize  for  the  re- 
mark, when  called  upon,  to  his  Majesty  the  King  of  the  two 
Sicilies,  and  to  declare,  if  required,  that  the  Neapolitan 
States  are  well  governed  ;  that  the  people  are  well  governed; 
that  I  never  saw  so  many  soldiers  and  so  much  governing  in 
all  my  life.  Every  man  seems  to  be  individually  governed, 
and  so  careful  is  his  Majesty  of  the  faithful  administration 
of  the  laws  and  the  persona.1  security  of  his  subjects,  that  the 


18  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

ramifications  of  government  extend  into  every  family  circle, 
and  wind  every  body  up  as  in  a  cobweb.  The  stranger  who 
lands  at  Palermo,  and  succeeds  in  getting  through  the  Polizia, 
will  respect  good  government  all  the  rest  of  his  life.  I  have 
a  very  pleasing  impression  of  the  officer  in  attendance  there. 
He  opened  my  knapsack  when  he  heard  me  speak  English, 
because  he  knew  I  must  be  an  Englishman  to  address  him 
in  that  language  ;  he  opened  my  letters  one  by  one  and  care- 
fully read  them,  commencing  at  the  signatures  and  ending 
at  the  dates;  and  when  he  saw  that  I  was  not  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, and  had  no  printed  documents  for  prmite  circulation 
among  the  people  of  Sicily,  he  gave  me  a  kindly  nod  and  let 
me  pass.-  Now,  I  depend  upon  that  officer,  as  a  man  of 
honor,  never  to  divulge  the  contents  of  my  letters — especially 
one  that  was  written  in  German  and  some  private  memoranda 
in  shorthand. 

The  streets  of  Palermo  are  wider  than  those  of  the  princi- 
pal cities  in  Italy,  and  at  night  the  shops  present  a  very 
cheerful  appearance.  Cafes  abound  in  all  the  public  places, 
but  there  are  none  equal  to  the  cafes  in  Florence.  I  visited 
during  my  stay  the  magnificent  villa  of  the  Marquis  Fourche, 
which  is  embellished  in  the  style  of  a  Pompeiian  palace,  with 
fountains  and  interior  decorations  designed  strictly  according 
to  the  antique  models  found  in  the  ruins  of  Pompeii.  The 
mosaic  marble  saloons,  frescoes,  and  general  arrangement  of 
the  chambers,  as  also  the  style  of  the  furniture,  afford  a  very 
good  idea  of  Pompeii  in  its  days  of  splendor.  It  was  a  festa 
day  in  Palermo,  so  I  went  to  all  the  churches  worth  seeing, 
and  heard  some  good  music  at  the  Santa  Catherina.  Coming 
from  Italy,  I  was  surfeited  with  sight-seeing  of  this^  kind,  but 
I  still  found  much  to  interest  me  in  Palermo,  where  something 
of  a  different  architectural  order  may  be  seen. 

"With  respect  to  the  fine  arts  in  Palermo,  of  which  the 
Marquis  of  Artala,  in  his  Guide  to  Sicily,  speaks  in  enthusi- 
astic terms,  I  must  confess  I  saw  nothing  of  a  high  order  of 
excellence.  He  dwells  with  particular  admiration  on  the 
magnificent  statuary  which  he  says  adorns  the  public  prom- 
enades. I  believe  I  thoroughly  explored  Palermo  and  its 


PALERMO  ID 

environs,  but  I  saw  no  magnificent  statuary  ;  and  was  at 
length  obliged  to  come  to  the  conclusion  that  great  allowance 
must  be  made  for  the  florid  imagination  of  gentlemen  who 
write  guide-books.  Often  have  I  walked  for  miles  through 
the  dusty  streets  of  an  Italian  city,  baking  myself  into  an 
Egyptian  mummy  under  a  burning  sun,  to  see  some  exquisite 
gem  of  art,  and  when  I  reached  the  place  found  a  stick  or  a 
stone,  or  an  old  daub  of  a  painting,  that  I  am  free  to  confess 
I  would  never  have  recognized  as  the  work  of  a  master-hand 
had  I  not  been  told  so.  The  statuary  in  the  churches  of 
Palermo  is  generally  exceedingly  bad ;  the  paintings  arc  of 
very  little  merit,  most  of  them  being  disgusting  illustrations 
of  scenes  that  never  existed -in  the  Scriptures  or  any  where 
else,  badly  drawn,  badly  painted,  and  in  the  worst  possible 
taste.  In  one  of  the  churches  I  was  introduced  with  great 
solemnity  to  a  picture  of  the  Madonna,  which  was  carefully 
covered  to  preserve  it  from  the  vulgar  gaze.  I  paid  two 
carlini  for  the  privilege  of  seeing  it.  Judge  of  my  astonish- 
ment when  the  grave  old  sexton  drew  back  the  curtain  and 
revealed  to  my  wondering  eyes  the  dingy  features  of  an  old 
black  woman,  with  a  silver  crown  on  her  forehead,  that 
made  her  skin  look  a  good  deal  like  darkness  visible.  The 
pupils  of  her  eyes  were  gilt  with  gold,  and  her  eyebrows  were 
radiant  with  precious  stones.  Her  dress  was  of  tawdry  lace, 
glowing  with  little  patchwork  of  silver  paper  ;  and  altogether 
she  was  the  most  extraordinary  object  I  ever  saw  ;  yet  the 
old  sexton  bowed  to  her  reverentially  and  sa  d  she  was  a 
great  work  of  art. 


CHAPTER  II. 

CATACOMBS    OF    PALERMO. 

UHIEF  among  the  wonders  of  Palermo  are  the  Catacombs 
of  the  Capuchin  Convent,  near  the  Porta  d'Ossuna.  It  is 
said  to  be  a  place  of  great  antiquity ;  many  of  the  bodies 
have  been  preserved  in  it  for  centuries,  and  still  retain  much 
of  their  original  freshness.  Entering  the  ancient  and  ruinous 
court  of  the  convent,  distant  about  a  mile  from  the  city,  I  was 
conducted  by  a  ghostly-looking  monk  through  some  dark  pas- 
sages -to  the  subterranean  apartments  of  the  dead.  It  was 
not  my  first  visit  to  a  place  of  this  kind,  but  I  must  confess 
the  sight  was  rather  startling.  It  was  like  a  revel  of  the 
dead — a  horrible,  grinning,  ghastly  exhibition  of  skeleton 
forms,  sightless  eyes,  and  shining  teeth,  jaws  distended,  and 
bony  hands  outstretched  ;  heads  without  bodies,  and  bodies 
without  heads — the  young,  the  old,  the  brave,  the  once  beau- 
tiful and  gay,  all  mingled  in  the  ghastly  throng.  I  walked 
through  long  subterranean  passages,  lined  with  the  dead  on 
both  sides  ;  with  a  stealthy  and  measured  tread  I  stepped, 
for  they  seemed  to  stare  at  the  intrusion,  and  their  skeleton 
fingers  vibrated  as  if  yearning  to  grasp  the  living  in  their  em- 
brace. Long  rows  of  upright  niches  are  cut  into  the  walls 
on  each  side  ;  in  every  niche  a  skeleton  form  stands  erect  as 
in  life,  habited  in  a  robe  of  black ;  the  face,  hands,  and  feet 
naked,  withered,  and  of  an  ashy  hue ;  the  grizzled  beards  still 
hanging  in  tufts  from  the  jaws,  and  in  the  recent  cases  the 
hair  still  clinging  to  the  skull,  but  matted  and  dry.  To  each 
corpse  is  attached  a  label  upon  which  is  written  the  name 
and  the  date  of  decease,  and  a  cross  or  the  image  of  the 
Savioxir. 

Soon  recovering  from  the  shock  of  the  first  impression,  I 


CATACOMBS  OF  PALERMO. 


was  struck  with  the  wonderful  variety  and  marked  expression 
of  character  in  the  faces  and  forms  around  me.  There  were 
progressive  dates  of  death,  extending  from  remote  centuries 
up  to  the  present  period,  the  niches  being  so  arranged  as  to 
admit  of  a  regular  order  of  deposit.  Many  of  the  bodies 
stood  erect,  as  if  just  lifted  from  the  death-bed  ;  the  faces 
colorless,  and  the  horrible  agonies  of  dissolution  stamped  upon 
the  features ;  the  lower  jaws  hanging  upon  the  breast ;  the 
teeth  grinning  and  glistening  between  the  parched  lips,  and" 
the  black  hue  of  sickness  about  the  mouth  and  around  the 
sunken  sockets  of  the  eyes ;  and  in  some  the  sightless  orbs 
were  open  and  staring  with  a  wild  glare  of  affright,  as  if 
peering  into  the  awful  mysteries  of  the  future ;  while  others 
wore  a  grotesque  laugh  of  derision  still  more  appalling,  with 
the  muscles  of  the  mouth  drawn  up,  the  eyebrows  lifted,  the 
head  tilted  knowingly  on  one  side,  the  hair  matted  in  homy 
tufts,  the  bare  spots  on  the  skulls,  like  the  piebald  wig  of  a 
harlequin  ;  the  skeleton  arms  outstretched,  and  the  bony  fin- 
gers spread  as  if  to  clutch  the  relentless  destroyer,  and  wrestle 


22  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

.with  him  to  the  last.  These  I  fancied  were  lively  fellows, 
who  were  carried  off  suddenly  after  a  midnight  carouse.  1 
sat  down  on  a  box  containing  a  dead  child,  and  looked  up  at 
a  row  of  bodies  opposite  that  attracted  my  notice  in  a  par- 
ticular degree.  In  the  middle  stood  a  rolicking  fellow,  about 
two  years  dead,  whose  sunken  eyes  appeared  still  to  burn 
with  the  fire  of  life  and  humor.  His  hands  were  lifted  in  a 
deprecating  manner  over  a  congregation  of  corpses  sitting  on 
a  shelf  below.  Some  appeared  to  be  listening ;  some  grinning 
at  his  humorous  harangue  ;  others,  with  their  heads  together, 
seemed  to  question  the  propriety  of  his  anecdotes ;  old  gentle- 
men, with  knitted  brows  and  lantern  jaws  ;  ranges  of  bodies 
stood  on  each  side  of  him  as  if  laughing,  talking,  praying, 
dying,  suffering,  listening,  rejoicing,  and  feasting  at  the  ban- 
quet of  death.  One  little  man,  in  a  dingy  suit  of  black,  sat 
in  a  corner ;  the  end  of  his  nose  was  eaten  off  by  the  worms  ; 
his  mouth  was  compressed,  and  had  a  pinched  expression;  his 
hands  grasped  eagerly  at  something.  I  thought  that  little 
man  was  a  miser,  whose  death  was  caused  by  starvation. 
Another  figure,  a  large  portly  body,  stood  in  a  conspicuous 
part  of  the  vault ;  it  was  the  corpse  of  a  fat  old  bishop,  whose 
jaws  were  still  rotund  and  smooth  with  good  living,  and  his 
sleek  hair  was  patted  down  to  his  head  as  with  the  oil  of 
bygone  roast  beefs  and  macaroni  soups,  and  his  jolly  cast  of 
countenance  betokened  a  system  liberally  supplied  with  the 
^juices  of  life,  and  a  conscience  rendered  easy  by  attention  to 
the  creature  comforts.  That  man  lived  an  easy  life,  and  died 
of  good  feeding.  He  was  carefully  labeled,  and  carried  on  his 
wrists  a  jeweled  cross.  There  stood  in  another  part  of  the 
vault  a  fiery  orator,  with  open  mouth  and  distended  arms. 
The  head  was  thrown  back,  the  breast  partially  bare,  a  few 
tufts  of  black  hair  fell  from  his  piebald  skull ;  his  round  star- 
ing eyes  were  stretched  wide  open,  and  his  brows  arched 
high  on  his  wrinkled  forehead  ;  he  looked  toward  heaven  for 
inspiration.  I  fancied  I  could  hear  the  flaming  torrent,  as  it 
blazed  and  crackled  and  scintillated  from  his  thin  ashy  lips. 
It  was  the  glowing  eloquence  of  an  ardent  soul  that  left  its 
parting  impress  upon  the  clay  ;  the  form  yet  spoke,  but  the 


CATACOMBS  OF  PALERMO.  iI3 

sound  was  not  there.  Passing  on  from  vault  to  vault,  I  saw 
here  and  there  a  dead  baby  thrown  upon  a  shelf — its  inno- 
cent little  face  sleeping  calmly  among  the  mouldering  skulls  ; 
a  leg,  or  an  arm,  or  an  old  skull,  from  which  the  lower  jaw 
had  fallen ;  now  a  lively  corpse,  jumping  with  a  startling 
throe  from  its  niche,  or  a  grim  skeleton  in  its  dark  corner 
chuckling  at  the  ravages  of  the  destroyer.  Who  was  the 
prince  here  ?  Who  was  the  great  man,  or  the  proud  man,  or 
the  rich  man  ?  The  musty,  grinning,  ghastly  skeleton  in  the 
corner  seemed  to  chuckle  at  the  thought,  and  say  to  himself, 
."  Was  it  you,  there  on  the  right,  you  ugly,  noseless,  sightless, 
disgusting  thing?  Was  it  you  that  rode  in  your  fine  carriage, 
about  a  year  ago,  and  thought  yourself  so  great  when  you 
ordered  your  coachman  to  drive  over  the  beggar  ?  Don't  you 
see  he  is  as  handsome  as  you  are  now,  and  as  great  a  man ; 
you  can't  cut  him  down  now,  my  fine  fellow !  And  you,  there 
on  the  left.  What  a  nice  figure  you  are,  with  your  fleshless 
shanks  and  your  worm-eaten  lips  !  It  was  you  that  betrayed 
youth  and  beauty  and  innocence,  and  brought  yourself  here 
at  last  to  keep  company  with  such  wretches  as  I  am.  Why, 
there  is  not  a  living  thing  now,  save  the  maggots,  that 
wouldn't  turn  away  in  disgust  from  you.  And  you,  sir,  on 
the  opposite  side,  how  proud  you  were  when  I  last  saw  you ; 
an  officer  of  state,  a  great  man  in  power,  who  could  crush  all 
below  you,  and  make  the  happy  wife  a  widowed  mourner, 
and  bring  her  little  babes  to  starvation  ;  it  was  you  that  had 
innocent  men  seized  and  cast  into  prison.  What  can  you  do 
now  ?  The  meanest  wretch  that  mocks  you  in  this  vault  of 
death  is  as  good  as  you,  as  strong,  as  great,  as  tall,  as  brcfad, 
as  pretty  a  piece  of  mortality,  and  a  great  deal  nearer  to 
heaven.  Oh,  you  are  a  nice  set  of  fellows,  all  mixing  to- 
gether without  ceremony !  Where  are  your  rules  of  etiquette 
now ;  your  fashionable  ranks,  and.  your  plebeian  ranks  ;  your 
thousands  of  admiring  friends,  your  throngs  of  jeweled  visit 
ors?  Why,  the  lowliest  of  us  has  as  many  visitors  here,  and 
as  many  honest  tears  shed  as  you.  Ha  !  ha  ! .  This  is  a  jolly 
place,  after  all ;  we  are  all  a  jolly  set  of  republicans,  and  old 
DEATH  is  our  President !" 


24 


A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 


Turning  away  from  this  strange  exhibition  of  death's 
doings,  I  followed  the  old  monk  into  the  vaults  allotted  to  the 
women.  Here  the  spectacle  was  still  more  shocking  and  im- 
pressive The  bodies  were  not  placed  in  an  upright  position 
like  those  of  the  men,  but  were  laid  out  at  full  length  in 
glass  cases  ;  the  walls  on  both  sides  were  covered. 

The  young,  the  gay,  the  beautiful,  were  all  here,  laid 
•  lowly  in  the  "relentless  embrace  of  death ;  decked  out  in  silken 
dresses,  laces,  and  jewelry,  as  in  mockery  of  the  past.  Each 
corpse  had  its  sad  history.  I  saw  a  young  bride  who  was 
stricken  down  in  a  few  brief  months  after  her  marriage.  She 
was  dressed  in  her  bridal  costume  ;  the  bonnet  and  vail  still 
on,  the  white  gloves  drawn  over  her  skeleton  fingers  ;  a  few 
withered  flowers  laid  upon  her  breast  by  the  mourning  one 
she  had  left  behind.  Through  the  thin  vail  could  be  seen  a 
blanched,  grinning,  bony  face;  the  sunken  sockets  of  the  eyes 
marked  around  with  the  dark  lines  of  decay ;  the  long  hair 
drawn  in  luxuriant  masses  over  her  withered  bosorn.  Another 


THE  CATACOMBS  OF  PALERMO.  25 

held  in  her  arms  a  skeleton  babe.  Some  were  habited  in 
walking  dresses  ;  others  in  all  the  finery  of  ball-room  costume, 
with  gay  silks,  slippers,  silk  stockings,  and  tawdry  lace.  It 
was  a  ghastly  sight  to  look  under  the  bonnets,  and  gaze  upon 
the  sunken  ashy  features,  decked  around  with  artificial  flowers ; 
to  trace  in  those  withered  lineaments  no  lingering  line  of 
beauty,  no  flickering  ray  of  the  immortal  spirit,  but  a  dreary 
history  of  mortal  agony,  decay,  and  corruption.  Yet  here  the 
husband  comes  to  hold  communion  with  the  beloved  soul  that 
once  dwelt  in  that  mouldering  corpse ;  to  look  upon  those 
blanched  features,  that  were  once  animate  with  life  and  affec- 
tion ;  to  kiss  the  cold  lips,  and  feel  no  returning  warmth. 
And  here,  too,  the  father,  brother,  sister,  and  wife  come  to 
gaze  upon  the  dead  ;  and  here  the  mother  comes  to  weep 
over  the  withered  corpse  of  her  babe.  Once  a  year,  as  I  learnt 
from  the  old  monk,  the  relatives  of  the  deceased  come  to  pray 
for  the  salvation  of  their  souls,  and  deck  the  bodies  with 
flowers. 

Many  a  night  had  that  old  monk  spent  down  in  these  dark 
vaults,  among  the  deaof;  not  as  a  penance  for  evil-doing, 
though  he  confessed  that  he  was  weak  and  sinful,  but  to  pray 
for  the  soul  of  some  brother,  who  had  been  his  companion  in 
years  past.  It  was  not  gloomy  to  him,  he  said;  it  made  him 
hopeful  if  not  happy ;  for  he  felt,  when  surrounded  by  these 
mortal  remains,  that  he  was  nearer  to  God.  There  were 
friends  here,  whom  he  had  loved  in  youth  and  manhood ; 
whose  hands  he  had  grasped  in  fellowship,  whose  eyes  had 
beamed  kindly  upon  him  when  his  heart  was  sad  :  now  grim 
and  motionless  in  the  dark  recesses  around  him.  He  liked  to 
gaze  upon  them,  and  think  of  a  re-union  with  the  immortal 
spirits  that  had  left  them  tenantless. 

Surely  that  old  man  was  sincere.  What  more  was  the 
world  to  him  than  to  the  dead  with  whom  he  mingled 
What  pleasures  could  life  have  to  one  whose  capacity  for 
earthly  happiness  had  long  since  been  destroyed  by  continued 
self-denial,  by  the  tearing  out  from  his  heart  of  every  unbid- 
den hope,  by  fasting  and  penance,  and  by  all  the  sacrifices  of 
light  and  sunshine  that  could  turn  inward  the  tide  of  thought ? 

B 


26  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

What  save  the  contemplation  of  the  future  ?  Yet  it  seemed 
as  if  in  his  midnight  watches  he  must  sometimes  feel  unde- 
fined terrors  check  the  flow  of  his  blood ;  that  the  rustling  of 
the  night  air  among  the  folds  of  the  shrouds,  and  the  drop- 
ping asunder  of  skeleton  forms  ;  the  sudden  grating  of  the 
doors,  when  moaning  gusts  of  wind  swung  them  open  upon 
their  hinges  ;  the  dry  rattling  of  fleshless  jaws,  the  gnawing 
of  bones  by  the  vermin,  the  sepulchral  gloom,  must  some- 
times startle  him  from  his  reveries  like  a  coming  solution  of 
the  dread  mystery.  Who  can  tell — not  even  himself — of  all 
the  strange  thoughts  that  flit  through  his  brain  in  the  dreary 
watches  of  the  night ; — what  weird  visions  he  sees  of  life 
brought  back  again  into  those  ghastly  corpses ;  what  faint 
moans  rise  from  out  the  darkness — moans  for  lives  misspent, 
and  never  more  to  return  upon  earth  ;  wild  bursts  of  anguish 
for  errors  that  can  never  be  retrieved,  prayers  for  one  drop  of 
mercy  before  the  day  of  eternal  doom  !  In  these  dread,  dark 
hours,  I  thought  how  the  cold  sweat  must  gather  upon  hia 
brow,  and  the  strength  forsake  him,  and  the  clammy  grasp 
of  the  unseen  hand — the  skeleton  hand  that  never  relents  for 
youth  or  beauty,  for  fame  or  virtue — draw  tight  around  his 
throat,  and  make  his  breath  come  thick  and  short,  and  his 
eyes  stare  affrighted,  like  the  sightless  orbs  of  the  dead  along 
the  walls. 

From  the  conversation  of  the  monk,  I  learnt  that  these 
catacombs  are  supported  by  contributions  from  the  relatives 
of  the  deceased,  who  pay  annually  a  certain  sum  for  the  pre- 
servation of  the  bodies.  Each  new-comer  is  placed  in  a  tem- 
porary niche,  and  afterward  removed  to  a  permanent  place, 
where  he  is  permitted  to  remain  as  long  as  the  contributions 
continue  ;  but  when  the  customary  fees  are  not  forthcoming 
the  corpses  are  thrown  aside  on  a  shelf,  where  they  lie  till  the 
relatives  think  proper  to  have  them  set  up  again.  Whole 
shelves  are  filled  with  skulls  and  bodies  of  the  dead,  put  out 
of  the  way  to -make  room  for  others  of  a  more  profitable 
Character. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  the  air  of  the  catacombs  is  in 
some  degree  affected  by  the  fresh  bodies  ;  but  this  is  not  the 


THE  CATACOMBS  OF  PALERMO.  27 

case.  There  is  no  offensive  odor,  and  the  visitor  would 
scarcely  know,  if  he  did  not  see  them,  that  he  was  surrounded 
by  the  dead.  I  could  perceive  no  difference  in  the  atmosphere 
of  these  vaults  from  that  of  any  other  subterranean  places, 
except  a  slight  smell  of  mould,  not  altogether  disagreeable. 
The  fresh  air  is  admitted  from  the  top,  and  it  is  to  its  ex- 
treme dryness  that  the  preservation  of  the  hodies  may  be 
attributed. 


CHAPTER  III. 

JOURNEY    TO    CATANIA. 

AMONG  the  many  curiosities  of  the  city  is  an  establishment 
for  foundlings.  The  institution  is  designed  to  prevent  infanti- 
cide. It  is  a  large  gloomy  old  building,  in  an  obscure  part  of 
the  town,  and  must  be  approached  with  circumspection  lest 
the  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood  should  indulge  in  erro- 
neous suspicions.  I  threw  all  the  responsibility  on  my  guide, 
however,  and  went  to  see  it  in  open  daylight.  There  is  a 
hole  in  the  wall  large  enough  to  admit  a  good-sized  bundle, 
inside  of  which  is  ^revolving  machine,  such  as  they  use  in 
post-offices  for  the  delivery  of  letters,  with  four  compartments, 
each  large  enough  to  hold  a  bambino.  The  unfortunate 
mother,  who  is  either  unable  or  unwilling  to  support  her 
offspring,  rolls  it  up  in  a  small  package,  which  she  carries  to 
the  pigeon-hole  at  night,  thrusts  it  in,  gives  the  revolving 
baby-holder  a  turn,  and  departs  with  all  possible  speed.  A 
bell  is  so  connected  with  the  machine  as  to  arouse  the  nurses 
on  the  floor  above.  By  pulling  a  string  the  whole  establish- 
ment is  whirled  up  aloft,  and  the  piccolo,  bambino,  tumbled 
out  of  the  package  into  the  arms  of  the  matron,  who  duly  in- 
spects it,  labels  it  Angelo,  or  Francisco,  or  Antonio,  as  her 
taste  may  dictate,  records  the  date  of  its  admission  in  a 
register,  its  sex,  &c. ;  and  so  commences  the  foundling  life  of 
the  debutante.  The  mother  is  permitted  to  take  it  away 
whenever  she  chooses,  but  it  is  seldom  the  little  unfortunate 
is  called  for.  What  the  moral  effect  of  this  institution  is,  it 
is  not  for  an  inexperienced  person  like  myself  to  determine. 

During  my  sojourn  in  Palermo  I  visited  Morreale,  a  village 
eituated  on  a  hill,  about  three  miles  distant  The  chief  object 


JOURNEY  TO  CATANIA.  29 

of  attraction  here  is  a  very  ancient  church,  in  which  may  be 
seen  some  of  the  finest  mosaic  in  Sicily,  and  a  court  contain- 
ing two  hundred  double  columns,  each  different  from  the 
other.  Among  the  pictures  in  mosaic  is  a  representation  of 
St.  Paul  in  the  act  of  pulling  the  devil  out  of  somebody's 
mouth  ;  to  which  one  of  the  reverend  padres  pointed  with  a 
grim  smile  of  triumph.  I  believe  he  suspected  that  I  had 
something  of  the  kind  in  me  that  could  be  extracted  by  hard 
pulling  ;  but  I  gave  him  a  couple  of  carlini,  which  seemed  to 
aflbrd  him  as  much  satisfaction  as  if  he  had  extracted  an  en- 
tire nest  of  devils. 

After  a  stay  of  four  days,  I  took  my  post  in  a  rumbling  old 
diligence  for  Catania,  on  the  southeastern  side  of  the  island. 
The  distance  is  a  hundred  and  seventy  Sicilian  miles  from 
Palermo.  It  was  late  at  night  when  we  started ;  for  you  must 
know  that  diligences  in  Sicily  always  make  it  a  point  to  start 
at  the  most  unseasonable  hours.  The  pleasure  of  the  trip  was 
in  no  degree  enhanced  by  the  information,  confidentially  con- 
veyed to  us  by  the  conductor,  when  we  asked  him  why  we 
had  a  guard,  that  on  the  trip  from  Catania,  just  three  days 
before,  the  diligence  had  been  robbed ;  that  the  mountains 
were  infested  with  banditti,  and  we  might  consider  ourselves 
fortunate  if  we  reached  Catania  without  broken  heads.  1 
had  heard  so  much  of  the  robbers  in  Italy,  who  were  always 
somewhere  else,  that  I  had  no  great  faith  in  those  of  Sicily  ; 
but,  inasmuch  as  all  parties  united  in  terrible  stories  of  the 
bad  character  of  the  Sicilians,  I  thought  there  might  be  suffi- 
cient truth  in  it  to  be  a  little  cautious  ;  so,  having  a  very 
slim  purse,  I  put  it  in  my  boots,  and  slept  comfortably  for 
the  night — as  much  so  at  least  as  a  person  can  when  he  has 
to  hang  on  outside  on  the  driver's  seat,  for  want  of  one  in  the 
interior.  It  was  a  bright  moonlight  night,  and  we  jogged  on 
pleasantly  enough,  up  hill  and  down  hill,  and  over  rugged 
roads,  and  through  dark,  low,  dirty-looking  villages,  till  day- 
light broke,  and  the  sun  rose  over  the  barren  mountains  with 
a  refreshing  warmth.  That  sun  was  welcomed  most  heartily 
by  the  whole  company,  for  the  mountain  air  had  chilled  us 
throughout ;  and  I  am  not  sure  but  it  would  have  found  us 


30  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

frozen  stiff,  had  it  not  been  that  at  each  post  we  were  roused 
into  a  fit  of  honest  indignation  -at  the  inordinate  demands  of 
the  postillions,  hostlers,  and  guards.  The  postillions  charged 
us  half  a  carlin  for  driving  us ;  the  hostlers  charged  half  a 
carlin  for  putting  the  horses  in  ;  the  guards  robbed  us  of  half 
a  carlin  for  preventing  us  frorrf  being  robbed ;  and  the  beggars 
begged  the  loose  change  from  us,  because  they  were  in  want 
of  money,  and  thought  they  had  a  legitimate  right  to  be  paid 
for  wanting  it.  Little  boys  begged  as  a  matter  of  amuse- 
ment and  education ;  old  women  and  old  men  begged,  whether 
they  were  in  need  of  funds  or  riot,  as  a  matter  of  example  to 
the  rising  generation ;  and  after  one  party  of  beggars  had 
chased  us  from  the  bottom  of  a  hill  up  to  the  top,  and  done 
their  very  best  in  the  way  of  hopping  on  crutches  (which  they 
only  made  use  of  for  the  occasion),  there  was  another  party 
ready  to  begin  the  moment  we  stopped,  without  the  slightest 
reference  to  the  labors  of  the  first  party,  and  when  they  were 
done  we  were  chased  to  the  bottom  of  the  hill  by  a  third 
party,  and  so  on  to  the  end  of  our  journey. 

But  the  real  beggars  are  tame  and  reasonable  in  their  de- 
mands compared  with  the  soldiers,  postillions,  and  conductors 
who  have  charge  of  the  diligence.  With  them  it  is  a  matter 
of  right  to  fleece  every  unfortunate  gentleman  who  places 
himself  in  their  power.  They  live  on  him.  He  is  meat  and 
drink  to  them.  His  pockets  are  their  pockets.  He  is  a  sort 
of  gold  mine  into  which  they  are  continually  digging.  They 
explore  him  ;  they  find  out  how  many  precious  veins  he  has ; 
and  they  insert  their  picks  and  shovels  wherever  the  dust 
glimmers,  and  root  it  out  with  surprising  perseverance.  By 
the  time  he  reaches  the  end  of  his  journey  he  is  dug  clean 
out,  and  they  turn  their  attention,  to  other  mines. 

Let  me  warn  the  traveler  who  thinks  of  making  the  tour 
of  Sicily,  not  to  delude  himserf  with  the  idea  that  when  he 
pays  for  a  seat  in  the  diligence,  or  a  seat  outside  of  it,  that  he 
is  done  paying — that  the  owners  thereof  consider  themselves 
under  the  slightest  obligation  to  take  him  to  his  place  of  des- 
tination. You  simply  pay  for  the  use  of  a  foot  or  a  foot  and 
a  half  of  cushion  (according  to  your  breadth  of  beam),  and  the 


JOURNEY  TO  CATANIA.  31 

contract  is  concluded.  You  may  be  left,  as  I  was  on  the  road 
to  Syracuse,  in  the  middle  of  the  public  highway,  without 
horses  or  driver,  an  object  of  mingled  wonder  and  derision  to 
the  inhabitants  of  a  populous  village — stared  at  as  the  man 
who  wouldn't  pay ;  ridiculed  as  the  man  who  couldn't  go 
without  horses ;  abused  in  an  unknown  and  abominable 
tongue,  for  refusing  to  be  legitimately  swindled ;  and  com- 
pelled, in  the  end,  to  give  an  additional  buono  mano  for  cre- 
ating the  difficulty  and  losing  temper.  Good  humor  and 
small  change  are  the  only  locomotive  powers  by  which  you 
can  get  on  in  Sicily.  The  one  keeps  you  in  a  state  of  self- 
satisfaction  ;  the  other  greases  the  wheels,  makes  the  whip 
crack,  and  the  horses  go.  Depend  upon  it,  you  will  never 
gain  an  inch  by  a  rebellious  spirit  against  customs  which  you 
can  not  change. 

Of  the  character  of  the  country  in  the  interior  of  Sicily,  I 
can  only  speak  as  it  appeared  to  me  in  the  month  of  October, 
after  the  parching  heats  of  summer.  The  brilliancy  of  the 
skies  and  the  salubrity  of  the  climate  at  this  season  of  the 
year  can  not  be  surpassed  in  any  part  of  the  world :  but  I  am 
not  sure  that  it  is  the  best  season  to  enjoy  the  scenery.  Cer- 
tainly the  parched  and  barren  aspect  of  the  whole  country 
gave  me  a  very  unfavorable  opinion  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil, 
or  the  beauties  of  Sicilian  scenery.  Nearly  the  entire  tract 
of  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  lying  between  Palermo  and  Cata- 
nia is  a  perfect  desert  of  rocky  mountains  and  barren  valleys, 
without  water  or  trees,  and  nothing  to  indicate  any  means  by 
which  the  inhabitants  subsist,  save  here  and  there  a  miser- 
able-looking spot  of  terraced  ground,  scratched  over,  and 
dotted  with  the  stumps  of  grape-vines.  Yet  they  do  live,  and 
apparently  without  labor  ;  for,  during  my  whole  journey  to 
Catania,  I  do  not  think  I  saw  a  dozen  men  at  work.  An  in 
tclligent  Italian,  however,  informed  me  that  the  land,  though 
apparently  so  sterile,  yields  abundant  crops  when  cultivated, 
and  requires  very  little  plowing.  The  villages  throughout  the 
interior  are  the  dirtiest  and  most  wretched-looking  places 
imaginable  ;  filled  with  beggars  and  ragged  idlers,  and  dilap- 
idated to  the  last  habitable  degree.  Syria,  or  the  Holy  Land. 


32  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

can  scarcely  furnish  a  more  deplorable  example  of  the  decay 
of  civilization  in  the  old  world  than  one  meets  with  at  every 
turn  of  the  road  throughout  the  interior  of  Sicily.  It  is  almost 
impossible  for  the  American  traveler,  accustomed  as  he  is  to 
progress  and  enterprise,  and  all  their  concomitant  results,  to 
comprehend  the  barbarous  condition  in  which  these  poor 
people  live.  Passing  through  the  villages  at  night,  I  saw 
many  of  them  asleep  on  the  road-side,  without  covering  or 
shelter ;  and  the  squalor  and  destitution  of  those  who  lived 
in  houses  surpass  belief.  "Whole  families  are  huddled  to- 
gether in  one  wretched  apartment,  without  beds  or  furniture, 
living  in  common  with  mules,  goats,  and  swine,  and  about 
as  cultivated  as  the  brutes  around  them.  Few  that  I  con- 
versed with  had  ever  heard  of  America,  and  even  those  who 
knew  there  was  such  a  country,  had  no  idea  whether  it  was 
in  China  or  in  England.  That  such  a  state  of  things  should 
exist  in  the  nineteenth  century,  in  a  country  once  so  highly 
civilized,  and  still  boasting  antiquities  that  excite  the  admira- 
tion of  the  world,  is  almost  incredible. 

The  implements  of  agriculture,  the  rude  and  half-savage 
appearance  of  the  people,  the  entire  absence  of  the  comforts 
of  civilization,  all  bore  evidence  of  the  depressing  effects  of 
military  rule.  "  What  object  is  there  in  these  poor  wretches 
endeavoring  to  benefit  their  condition  ?"  said  my  friend,  the 
Italian,  to  me.  "  What  good  will  it  do  them  to  increase  their 
crops,  or  build  better  houses,  or  educate  their  children  ?  The 
more  they  have,  the  heavier  they  are  taxed ;  they  naturally 
think  they  might  as  well  remain  idle  as  labor  for  the  support 
of  a  horde  of  brutal  soldiers  to  keep  them  in  a  state  .of  slavery ; 
and  there  is  no  incitement  to  education,  for  it  only  makes 
them  the  more  sensible  of  their  degraded  condition.  Yet  it 
is  not  to  be  contended  that  they  are  fit  for  self-government ; 
all  they  need  is  a  judicious  and  humane  system  of  laws,  which 
will  afford  them  adequate  protection  against  the  errors  and 
follies  of  despotic  rulers.  They  are  not  deficient  in  capacity 
or  industry,  where  they  have  any  object  in  making  use  of 
their  natural  gifts.  You  see  them  now  in  a  state  of  hopeless 
degradation  and  bondage." 


JOURNEY  TO  CATANIA.  3S 

While  the  Italian  was  talking,  a  Capuchin  friar  came  to 
the  door  of  the  diligence  to  beg  for  the  church.  I  thought 
my  friend  might  have  added  some  reflections  on  this  branch 
of  the  subject,  that  would  have 
shown  more*  clearly  the  root 
of  the  evils  under  which  the 
Sicilians  labor;  but  being  a 
good  Catholic  he  was  silent 
I  contented  myself  by  giving 
the  poor  friar  a  baiocco,  and 
making  a  sketch  of  his  face  as 
he  stood  waiting  for  the  Italian 
to  give  him  another.  There 
was  plenty  of  time  to  get  a 
good  likeness. 

I  said  we  started  from  Palermo  at  night.  It  is  a  journey 
of  thirty-six  hours  to  Catania,  making  just  two  nights  and 
one  day  on  the  road.  One  would  naturally  suppose  it  would 
be  quite  as  well  to  set  out  in  the  morning,  and  make  two  days 
and  one  night  of  it ;  but  these  are  among  the  unaccountable 
peculiarities  of  Sicilian  travel. 

Catania  is  a  large  town,  containing  a  population  of  fifty 
thousand,  many  fine  buildings,  many  soldiers,  many  churches 
and  some  of  the  finest  convents  in  Sicily.  The  monastery  of 
San  Benedetto  is  the  most  extensive  establishment  of  the  kind 
I  have  yet  seen.  Here  the  monks,  who  are  chiefly  of  noble 
families,  live  in  royal  style.  If  I  had  money  enough,  nothing 
would  please  me  better  than  to  adopt  the  cowl  and  sack,  and 
become  a  brother  in  the  monastery  of  San  Benedetto.  The 
building  is  a  magnificent  palace,  ornamented  with  courts  and 
fountains,  gardens,  pleasure-grounds,  bowers  for  devotional 
exercises,  splendid  marble  halls  in  the  interior,  suites  of  ele- 
gant apartments,  pictures  of  all  the  saints,  organs  that  fill 
the  spacious  chapels  with  a  flood  of  solemn  music  ;  statuary, 
mosaic,  and  voluptuous  frescoes — all  that  can  charm  the 
senses  and  make  glad  the  heart  of  monks.  The  wines  are  the 
choicest  selections  of  the  Marsala  and  San  Nicoloso  brands ; 
the  macaroni  is  the  purest  and  richest ;  the  fish  are  the  best 

B* 


34  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

that  can  be  fished  out  of  the  bay  of  Catania  ;  the  chickene 
and  capons,  the  salmis,  the  salads,  the  roast-beef  and  mutton 
are  unexceptionable.  They  have  their  separate  apartments; 
their  servants,  their  private  wines,  their — but  it  won't  do  to 
be  too  particular.  You  know  the  brotherhood-  do  not  use 
these  things — they  are  for  the  use  of  visitors.  Perhaps  with 
all  their  failings  they  are  as  good  as  most  men  ;  and  it  must 
be  admitted  that  no  traveler  can  visit  the  convent  of  Monte 
Sanario  or  Val  Ombrosa,  in  Tuscany,  or  indeed  any  of  the 
convents  throughout  Italy  or  Sicily,  without  a  grateful  sense 
of  their  genuine  good-nature  and  hospitality.  They  are  not 
soured  by  an-  ascetic  mode  of  life,  or  misanthropic  from  theii 
seclusion ;  the  world  is  open  to  them,  and  they  enjoy  it  in  a 
quiet  way. 

Close  by  the  convent  of  San  Benedetto  is  a  female  convent. 
I  was  not  permitted  to  enter,  having  no  friends  there. 

Six  miles  from  Catania,  on  the  road  along  the  coast  to 
Messina,  is  the  group  of  rocks  where  it  is  said  the  Cyclope? 
were  born.  They  are  called  the  Cyclopean  Isles.  I  went  up 
one  forenoon  to  make  a  sketch  of  them.  The  weather  was 
unpropitious ;  and,  after  a  glance  at  the  rocks  and  a  thorough 
drenching,  I  was  compelled  to  return  without  the  usual  boat 
excursion  to  the  grotto. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ASCENT    OF    MOUNT    ETNA. 

IT  is  a  gcod  forenoon's  work  to  prepare  for  the  ascent  of 
Mount  Etna.  There  are  horses  to  be  hired,  bargains  to  be 
made,  warm  clothing  to  be  put  in  readiness,  provisions  to  be 
laid  in,  brandy  and  cigars  to  be  stowed  away  for  the  night ; 
and  sundry  other  little  matters  to  be  attended  to,  if  the  ad- 
venturer designs  spending  the  night  on  the  mountain.  My 
companion  on  the  occasion  was  a  young  Englishman  attached 
to  the  army  at  Malta,  a  very  pleasant  and  gentlemanly 
traveling  acquaintance ;  he  was  anxious  to  see  the  sun  rise 
from  the  summit  of  the  mountain.  To  this  arrangement  I 
was  opposed  for  several  reasons :  first,  I  had  often  seen  the 
sun  rise  from  the  top  of  a  mountain ;  secondly,  the  season  was 
late,  and  it  is  no  pleasant  journey  over  the  beds  of  lava  to  the 
crater  of  Mount  Etna  in  the  middle  of  the  night.  But,  inas- 
much as  my  friend  had  no  recollection  of  ever  having  seen 
the  sun  rise  from  a  mountain,  I  gave  up,  and  agreed  to  be 
victimized. 

The  distance  from  Catania  to  the  crater  of  Mount  Etna  its 
twenty-three  miles ;  the  area  of  the  base  covers  an  extent  of 
more  than  a  hundred  miles ;  and  the  height,  according  to  the 
most  authentic  French  measurement,  is  eleven  thousand 
four  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea..  It  is  generally 
covered  with  snow  from  October  to  June ;  but,  owing  to 
an  unusually  fine  autumn,  we  were  fortunate  in  finding  it 
entirely  free  from  snow  on  the  10th  of  October,  and  we  after- 
ward learned  that  it  remained  so  until  the  beginning  of 
November.  On  the  road  from  Palermo  we  made  repeated 
inquiries  as  to  the  practicabil  ty  of  the  ascent  at  this  season  ; 


A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY.. 

but  it  Vas  not  till  we  came  in  sight  of  it  at  a  distance  of  forty 
miles  that  we  could  ascertain  any  thing  satisfactory.  In  fact, 
n0body  that  we  asked  knew  any  thing  about  Mount  Etna,  or 
ad  ever  heard  of  such  a  mountain — at  least  under  that 
name.  Some  thought  it  must  be  in  Italy,  and  others  declared 
there  was  no  such  mountain.  Our  conductor  knew  it  when 
he  saw  it,  but  he  could  not  tell  us  two  hours  before  when  we 
would  see  it. 

At  two  o'clock  we  sallied  forth,  duly  mounted  and  capar- 
isoned. The  animal  upon  which  I  rode  was  intended  for  a 
horse,  I  believe,  but  it  bore  very  little  resemblance  to  that 
noble  animal.  Had  any  body  offered  to  bet  me  ten  dollars 
that  it  wouldn't  drop  before  I  got  half  way  to  San  Nicolosi, 
I  would  have  taken  him  up.  Rosinante  was  nothing  to  com- 
pare with  the  bony,  shaggy,  sway-backed  old  charger  that 
bore  me  out  of  the  gates  of  Catania. 

Immediately  after  leaving  the  suburbs  of  the  town,  the 
ascent  commences,  and  it  continues,  more  or  less,  the  entire 
distance  of  twenty-three  miles  to  the  summit  of  the  mountain. 
The  road  as  far  as  San  Nicolosi  is  tolerably  good — the  first 
part  of  it,  to  the  fountain,  being  a  public  highway  to  the 
principal  villages  back  of  Catania.  The  devastating  effects 
of  the  volcanic  eruptions  are  visible  every  where  on  the  road- 
side, and  even  below  Catania  the  face  of  the  country  is  black- 
ened with  masses  of  the  lava.  The  foundations  of  the  villages 
along  the  sea  shore  for  miles,  the  walls  around  the  fields,  the 
lanes  and  terraced  grounds,  are  all  formed  of  volcanic  depos- 
its, and  give  a  dreary  aspect  to  the  whole  country ;  hundreds 
of  villages  lie  buried  beneath  the  desolating  streams  that 
have  poured  from  the  crater  in  times  past ;  vineyards  and 
olive  groves,  castles,  villas,  works  of  art,  thousands  of  men, 
women,  and  children,  lie  mouldering  under  those  fierce  floods 
of  ashes  and  lava.  Other  towns  and  villages  have  sprung 
up  on  the  ruins  ;  thousands  of  living  beings  dwell  in  the 
same  places,  and  look  up  every  day  with  careless  indifference 
at  the  smoking  crater ;  vineyards  and  olive  groves  are  nour- 
ished from  the  bones  of  the  dead.  What  matters  it  ?  No- 
body believes  there  will  be  another  eruption  in  his  lifetime ; 


ASCENT  OF  MOUNT  ETNA.  37 

and,  if  it  comes,  then  it  will  be  time  enough  to  think  of 
escape.  So  they  live  on  in  a  happy  sense  of  security ;  and, 
if  the  climate  permitted,  no  doubt  the  crater  itself  would  be 
inhabited.  Does  any  body  refrain  from  traveling  by  railway 
because  cars  have  run  off  the  track  ?  Do  the  people  of  the 
West  go  in  keel-boats  because  steamboats  blow  up  ?  Does  a 
man  abstain  from  going  to  the  mines  of  California  because 
his  brother  or  friend  has  "  shuffled  off  the  mortal  coil"  in  a 
gold  pit  ? 

Vineyards  thrive  in  the  lava  of  Mount  Etna.  The  whole 
district  of  San  Nicolosi,  which  has  been  covered  a  dozen 
times,  and  which  will  most  likely  be  covered  again  the  very 
first  time  old  Etna  rouses  from  his  long  siesta,  and  belches 
forth  his  fiery  floods,  is  thickly  inhabited,  and  doubtless  would, 
if  practicable,  go  on  increasing  and  extending  up  toward  the 
summit  till  it  got  into  the  regions  of  fire  and  brimstone. 

The  village  of  San  Nicolosi  is  about  two  hours  from  Ca- 
tania. We  reached  the  locanda,  or  inn,  an  hour  or  so  before 
sunset ;  and  having  nothing  there  to  interest  us,  we  cast 
about  us  for  some  means  of  passing  the  rest  of  the  afternoon. 
The  padrona,  a  good-natured,  talkative  fellow,  informed  us 
that  there  lived  not  far  off  one  Senor  Gemmellaro,  who  was' 
a  sort  of  conspicuous  character  in  the  neighborhood,  and  who 
spoke  good  English,  and  was  always  glad  to  see  Englishmen 
and  Americans — in  short,  that  he  could  tell  us  a  goo^jl  deal 
about  Mount  Etna  that  would  be  of  use  to  us.  Encouraged 
by  this  piece  of  information,  we  set  out,  under  the  padrona's 
guidance,  to  pay  a  visit  to  Senor  Gemmellaro,  who  was  at 
his  villa  outside  the  village. 

A  pleasant  walk  of  half  a  mile  through  the  narrow  lanes 
that  separate  the  vineyards  of  Nicolosi  brought  us  to  the  gate 
of  Senor  Gemmellaro's  villa.  Here  we  found  collected  forty 
or  fifty  merry  damsels,  with  baskets  on  their  heads  filled  with 
the  grapes  of  the  vineyard.  It  did  our  hearts  good  to  see  the 
merry  sunburnt  faces  of  these  damsels,  and  hear  their  jovial 
voices  as  they  sang  their  songs  of  gleesome  labor.  A  happier 
looking  set  of  beings  I  never  saw,  in  their  ragged  dresses  and 
br<r ad-brimmed  hats ;  and  I  venture  to  say  they  were  aa 


38  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

happy  as  they  looked.  These  were  the  peasant  girls  of  the 
country. 

Senor  Gemmellaro  met  us  at  the  gate  in  the  true  spirit  of 
a  fine  old  country  gentleman.  "  I  am  very  glad  to  see  you," 
said  he,  "  though  I  have  but  little  to  offer  you  here.  You 
see  my  country  house  there — a  mere  straw  cabin,  but  good 
enough  for  an  old  bachelor."  The  cottage  was  indeed  a  cu- 
riosity. Robinson  Crusoe  never  designed  or  inhabited  any 
thing  more  picturesque.  Pleasantly  shaded  by  trees  stood 
this  rustic  little  wigwam,  with  its  peaked  straw  roof  and 
single  door,  and  the  inviting  aroma  of  grape  vines  and  flowers 
around  it,  and  in  front  a  laughing,  dancing,  buxom  gang  of 
country  girls,  full  of  life  and  fun,  and  apparently  not  at  all 
disposed  to  work.  "  They  are  a  very  troublesome  set,"  said 
Senor  Gemmellaro ;  "  I  can't  do  any  thing  with  them." 
Then  the  old  gentleman  would  laugh  and  shake  his  head  at 
the  girls  :  "  Ah,  you  young  imps  ;  you  think  because  I  am  a 
bachelor  you  can  do  as  you  please  with  me.  Never  mind, 
I'll  pay  you  up ;  I'll  get  a  wife  to  keep  you  all  in  order." 
Here  the  old  gentleman  would  laugh  again,  until  his  eyes 
seemed  ready  to  pop  out  of  his  head ;  and  the  girls  would 
laugh,  and  we  laughed  as  a  matter  of  politeness. 

We  went  into  the  cottage,  where  we  found  the  roof  orna- 
mented with  choice  selections  of  grapes  and  various  produc- 
tions of  the  villa.  The  old  gentleman  prides  himself  on  a 
particular  wine,  which  he  makes  with  his  own  hands,  to 
which  he  gallantly  gives  the  name  of  "  Vino  del  Donna."  It 
is  a  wine  peculiarly  for  the  ladies ;  and  I  must  say  it  is  the 
very  best  that  could  be  devised  for  the  delicate  palate  of  the 
fair  sex.  Any  lady  who  conld  drink  two  glasses  of  the  Vino 
del  Donna  without  experiencing  an  immediate  inclination  to 
accept  of  the  first  offer,  must  be  possessed  of  an  adamantine 
heart.  The  grapes  are  perfectly  delicious — far  superior  to 
any  we  had  tasted  down  in  the  lower  country. 

We  learned  from  Senor  Gemmellaro  that  the  climate  and 
soil  of  San  Nicolosi  are  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  cultivation 
of  the  grape.  Black  and  parched  as  the  whole  face  of  the 
country  appears,  it  produces  most  abundant  crops,  and  the 


ASCENT  OF  MOUNT  ETNA.  39 

quality  of  the  wine  very  far  surpasses  that  of  the  Marsala 
region  in  richness  and  delicacy.  Wealthy  families  often  come 
up  to  spend  the  summer  here,  in  order  to  enjoy  the  pure  air 
and  the  delicious  grapes  and  wines  of  the  neighborhood. 

The  view  from  San  Nicolosi  over  the  valley  of  Catania  is 
one  of  the  finest  in  Sicily.  Vineyards,  white  shining  villas, 
groves  of  olive  and  almond  trees,  meadows,  and  ruins  of  half- 
buried  villages  are  spread  out  below  in  all  the  variegated 
hues  of  a  living  panorama,  bounded  by  the  glistening  sea  and 
the  far-off  hills  of  Syracuse.  From  the  rustic  observatory  of 
our  host  we  had  a  sunset  view  of  this  magnificent  region 
that  made  an  impression  never  to  be  effaced.  Senor  Gem- 
rnellaro  was  delighted  at  the  effect  of  his  skill  in  rustic  archi- 
tecture, and  1  have  no  doubt  attributed  the  admirable  man- 
ner in  which  the  sun  went  down  to  the  remarkable  construc- 
tion of  his  observatory. 

We  walked  back  with  him,  after  feasting  ourselves  on  figs, 
grapes,  wine,  and  scenery,  to  the  village,  where  he  took  us 
into  his  old  palazzo  and  showed  us  all  the  curiosities  of  the 
establishment.  There  were  dogs  innumerable  in  the  yard, 
white  rabbits  and  gray  rabbits,  squirrels,  and  cats,  and  rats, 
pea-fowl,  and  guinea-fowl,  and  all  manner  of  fowl ;  strange- 
looking  things  creeping  on  the  ground  and  up  the  grape-vines ; 
old  guns,  and  horns,  and  shot-pouches  hanging  under  the 
piazza ;  old  vases  to  catch  the  rain,  and  antique  columns 
starting  up  out  of  the  ground  in  all  directions.  It  was  a 
strange,  bachelor-like  old  place,  with  no  sign  of  life  about  it 
save  that  of  the  strange  animals  that  kept  company  with 
their  old  master.  Yet  he  seemed  to  be  happy,  and  to  take  a 
quiet  pleasure  in  feeding  his  pets ;  perhaps  as  much  as  most 
people  do  in  feeding  their  wives. 

The  cabinet  of  Senor  Gemmellaro  contains  a  rich  and  won- 
derful collection  of  volcanic  specimens ;  lava  in  all  possible 
forms  ;  some  in  the  shape  of  snakes,  lizards,  and  pigs  ;  others 
not  unlike  old  castles,  statuary,  columns,  and  antique  vases ; 
also  coins  of  rare  value,  relics  of  Sicilian  history,  old  papers 
and  old  books,  and  a  thousand  curious  things  impossible  to 
describe. 


40  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

In  his  register  of  visitors  were  the  names  of  some  distin- 
guished travelers.  I  saw  some  few  names  of  Americans  of  a 
recent  date.  Chief  among  those  were  Mr.  E.  Joy  Morris  and 
family,  and  Mr.  Alexander  Clements,  of  Washington,  who 
made  the  ascent  in  company  last  spring  a  year  ago  ;  and  of 
a  later  date,  I  believe  in  May  last,  those  of  Professor  Silliman 
and  a  party  of  friends,  who  had  spent  several  days  in  a  scien- 
tific tour  in  the  neighborhood  of  San  Nicolosi.  The  ascent 
of  Mount  Etna  has  been  rendered  much  less  difficult  of  late 
years  than  it  formerly  was,  by  the  laudable  exertions  of  Senor 
Gemmellaro  in  opening  better  mule  paths,  and  removing 
many  obstacles  that  formerly  existed.  All  travelers  unite  in 
speaking  highly  of  his  hospitality  and  intelligence,  and  none 
will  be  disappointed  in  visiting  his  cabinet  of  volcanic  curi- 
osities. 

Naturalists  make  four  divisions  of  soil  and  production  be- 
tween the  base  of  the  mountain,  commencing  at  Catania,  and 
the  summit ;  the  piedmonte,  covering  an  extent  of  about 
eight  miles,  embracing  villages,  country  residences  or  villas, 
vineyards  and  meadows  ;  the  sebrosa,  or  nemorosa,  five  miles, 
producing  pine  trees  and  ilex,  oaks,  coarse  grass,  and  wild 
flowers,  but  destitute  of  springs  ;  the  scoperta,  three  miles  in 
extent,  mostly  of  sand  and  patches  of  wild  plants  ,  and  the 
deserta,  three  miles  farther,  extending  to  the  summit,  con- 
sisting almost  entirely  of  lava,  scoria,  and  ashes. 

Down  to  the  present  period  there  have  been  seventy-five 
eruptions,  twelve  of  which  were  prior  to  the  Christian  era. 
That  of  1669  destroyed  a  great  number  of  villages,  and  did 
great  damage  to  Catania ;  but  in  1693  occurred  the  great 
eruption,  accompanied  by  earthquakes,  which  destroyed  sixty 
towns,  including  Catania.  The  latest  eruptions  were  those 
of  1831,  '32,  '38,  and  '42.  It  is  not  my  province,  however, 
to  go  into  a  history  of  these  convulsions  of  nature,  and  their 
causes  and  effects.  They  have  been  described  at  great  length 
in  the  works  of  many  learned  travelers  who  have  visited  this 
region,  though  much  yet  remains  to  be  written. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    CRATER. 

AT  eight  o'clock,  after  a  good  supper  at  the  locanda,  we 
uet  out  ibr  the  crater  of  Mount  Etna.  It  was  a  rnild,  clear 
night ;  the  moon  was  in  her  prime,  and  the  stars  shone  out 
like  gems  of  crystallized  light,  without  a  single  cloud  to  ob- 
scure their  glorious  radiance.  Our  horses  being  no  longer 
available,  I  was  reluctantly  compelled  to  leave  my  favorite 
old  charger  and  take  a  mule. 

Oh,  ye  stars,  which  are  the  poetry  of  heaven,  what  omni- 
potent works  ye  revealed  to  us  that  night !  What  still,  shad- 
owy forests  of  gnarled  old  oaks,  and  yawning  precipices  of 
darkness  unfathom'able,  opened  to  us  as  we  toiled  upward ; 
what  ghostly  mountains,  and  cities,  and  temples  of  blackened 
lava  Io9med  through  the  shadowy  distance  ;  what  boundless 
valleys  of  mystic  light  lay  outspread  beneath  us ;  what  a 
solemn,  stillness  reigned  over  the  slumbering  earth !  Up, 
high  over  all,  with  its  bare  and  grizzled  cone,  towered  the 
smouldering  crater,  lonely  and  desolate,  but  mighty  in  its 
desolation.  "Where  are  the  castles  and  palaces  that  once 
decorated  the  dim  valleys  in  the  depths  below  ?  where  are 
the  boasted  deeds  of  Roman  and  Saracen  heroes  ?  where  are 
the  victors  and  the  vanquished  now  ?  where  is  all  that  the 
vaunted  ambition  of  man  has  accomplished  ?  Not  for  human 
ken  is  it  to  penetrate  the  dim  vista  of  centuries,  and  tell  of 
all  that  lies  buried  beneath  those  dark  floods  ;  not  for  all  the 
records  of  the  past  to  reveal  the  millionth  part  of  their  sad 
mysteries. 

But  I  think  I  hear  my  friend,  the  Englishman,  say,  "Sad 
nonsense  all  this  ;  Etna  is  a  stunning  place,  to  be  sure ;  dev- 
ilish high,  devilish  cold,  and  all  that ;  throws  out  an  amazing 


42  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

quantity  of  smoke  now  and  then — didn't  do  a  bad  job  when 
it  buried  all  those  beggars  of  Romans  and  Saracens,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  number  of  rascally  Sicilians  it  has  since  cover- 
ed up.  Nonsense — all  fudge  !" 

In  about  three  hours  and  a  half  from  San  Nicolosi  we 
reached  an  old  tree  lying  in  a  sheltered  ravine,  where  the 
guides  lit  a  fire  and  fed  the  mules.  A  very  marked  differ- 
ence was  perceptible  in  the  atmosphere  at  this  elevation;  the 
cold  was  penetrating,  though  not  apparently  of  great  intensity. 
It  was  with  difficulty  we  could  keep  our  feet  and  hands  warm, 
and  maintain  a  healthy  circulation  of  the  blood  ;  but,  after 
resting  an  hour  or  two,  we  pushed  on. 

From  the  oak  forest  we  emerged  into  a  region  of  scoria  and 
lava,  abounding  in  narrow  and  difficult  passes,  and  of  the 
wildest  and  most  desolate  aspect.  The  moon,  which  had 
thus  far  befriended  us,  now  disappeared,  and  left  us  in  almost 
utter  darkness.  It  was  surprising  how  the  guides  adhered  to 
the  path  over  the  rough  beds  of  lava ;  .often,  as  we  thought, 
depending  altogether  upon  instinct ;  in  many  places  there  ap- 
peared to  be  not  the  slightest  trace  of  a  path.  Huge  masses 
of  lava,  over  which  we  stumbled,  deep  gulches,  and  yawning 
precipices,  all  enveloped  in  gloom,  threatened  each  moment 
to  bring  us  up  with  a  sudden  check ;  but  we  always  contrived 
to  keep  on,  winding  round  them,  and  into  them,  and  through 
them,  after  the  stalwart  figure  of  old  Pedro,  who  took  the 
lead  and  never  for  an  instant  slackened  his  pace.  How  that 
man  kept  breath  enough  in  his  body  to  sustain  life  during  so 
many  years  of  hard  climbing,  I  could  never  divine ;  for, 'ac- 
customed as  I  was  to  exercise,  I  must  say  it  made  me  puff 
not  a  little  to  keep  pace  with  him  for  one  night.  The  high- 
est bluffs,  the  roughest  passes,  the  deepest  chasms  were  all 
the  same  to  old  Pedro  ;  up  he  rose  and  down  he  went,  some- 
times looming  against  the  sky  like  a  gigantic  wizard  of  the 
mountain  in  his  shaggy  capote,  sometimes  sinking  with  rapid 
and  steady  strides  into  unfathomable  depths ;  now  grasping 
the  scraggy  points  of  lava  and  lifting  himself  out  of  myster- 
ious pits ;  now  scrambling  over  precipices  of  scoria  like  a 
monstrous  bear  ;  a  moment  after,  astride  of  his  mule,  on  some 


THE  CRATER.  43 

lonely  ledge  of  rock,  ever  toiling  onward  with  the  same  noise- 
less, steady,  unwearying  tread.  A  weather-beaten,  grizzled, 
manly  fellow  was  Pedro,  the  guide  ;  rough  as  the  winds,  and 
rains,  and  smoke  of  old  Etna  could  make  him ;  dirty  and 
shaggy  like  his  tattered  capote ;  hut,  with  a  strong  pair  of 
legs  and  an  unflinching  will  (in  the  way  of  climbing),  he  had 
a  childlike  nature  and  a  heart  that  filled  well  his  capacious 
breast.  As  we  neared  the  summit  of  the  mountain  the  air 
became  so  rarefied  and  the  cold  so  piercing  that  I  felt  as  if 
there  was  not  an  ounce  of  blood  in  me,  and  it  was  only  by 
hard  walking  I  could  keep  up  any  thing  like  a  circulation 
"  Pedro,"  said  I,  "  it's  getting  mighty  cold ;  don't  you  think 
BO  ?"  "  Si,  signore,  un  poco—ma  pilliare  questa,"  pulling  off 
his  capote.  "  No,  no,  thank  you,  keep  it  on."  Pedro  said 
nothing,  but  casting  his  capote  around  me,  fastened  it  on  in 
such  wise  that  it  was  no  use  to  struggle  against  his  kindness : 
a  moment  after  he  was  striding  up  on  a  ridge  of  lava,  far 
above,  looking  like  a  great  black  giant  that  had  come  sud- 
denly out  of  the  earth. 

We  reached  the  last  station,  or  Casa  degl'  Inglcsa,  about 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  cold  was  not  so  intense 
as  I  had  often  experienced  before,  but  much  more  penetrating 
from  the  decreased  power  of  resistance  in  the  blood.  My 
friend,  the  Englishman,  who  had  ridden  nearly  all  the  way, 
was  as  stifFas  a  piece  of  buckram  when  he  dismounted,  though 
not  disposed  to  admit  that  he  felt  at  all  "  uncomfortable." 
There  was  not  much  in  the  Casa  Inglesa  to  cheer  us,  save 
the  shelter  afforded  by  its  dilapidated  walls.  Originally  the 
house  consisted  of  three  rooms,  a  kitchen,  and  stable,  but 
now  the  stable  is  in  ruins,  and  we  found  but  one  of  the  rooms 
at  all  habitable.  Into  this  we  betook  ourselves,  with  a  couple 
of  the  mules  that  were  half  famished  by  cold  and  hunger ; 
and,  thus  quartered,  awaited  the  proper  time  to  commence 
our  ascent  to  the  crater.  Pedro,  taking  pity  upon  us,  broke 
off  a  piece  of  the  door,  which,  together  with  a  small  contri- 
bution from  the  window-frame,  and  the  remains  of  an  old 
bench,  made  a  very  tolerable  fire  ;  and  if  there  had  been  a 
chimney  we  might  have  been  rather  comfortable.  Wrapped 


44  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

in  the  shaggy  capote,  I  stretched  myself  on  a  piece  of  plank, 
and  looking  into  the  crackling  pile,  around  which  sat  the 
guides  and  muleteers,  moralized  on  the  vaulting  ambition  of 
man  which  induces  him  to  cross  stormy  seas  and  climb  vol- 
canic mountains.  Said  I  to  myself  (for  the  Englishman  was 
lost  in  a  cloud  of  smoke  on  the  other  side),  Here  you  are,  at 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  ten  thousand  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  cold  as  a  lump  of  ice,  choking  with  smoke, 
with  scarce  a  shoe  on  your  feet  or  a  coat  on  your  back  ;  tossed 
and  tumbled  about  till  you  hardly  know  what  language  you 
talk  or  where  you  belong  ;  now  up  on  the  top  of  Mount  Etna 
to  see  the  sun  rise,  and  next  to  take  a  peep  into  the  valley  of 
Jehosaphat.  And  all  for  what  ?  Quein  sabe,  as  the  Span- 
iards say. 

The  Casa  degV  Inglesa  is  a  small  stone  building,  con- 
structed in  the  rudest  manner,  for  the  temporary  accommoda- 
tion of  travelers  on  the  way  to  the  crater.  It  is  ten  thousand 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  is  of  course  uninhabited, 
being  merely  a  place  of  shelter,  without  water  or  other  ac- 
commodations by  which  life  could  be  sustained  in  that  remote 


CASA  DEGL'  INGLESA. 


THE  CRATER.  45 

region.  According  to  Senor  Gemmellaro,  it  was  built  by  his 
father,  the*  distinguished  naturalist,  in  1810,  when  the  En- 
glish army  occupied  Sicily.  It  was  originally  intended  that 
it  should  have  attached  to  it  an  observatory,  with  all  the  in- 
struments necessary  fo*  determining  the  temperature  and  ob- 
serving the  volcanic  phenomena  of  Mount  Etna  ;  but,  owing 
to  the  want  of  suitable  enccuragement,  this  design  was  aban- 
doned. For  many  years  past  it  has  been  repaired  from  time 
to  time  by  Senor  Gemmellaro  entirely  at  his  own  expense. 

The  dawn  of  day  began  to  lighten  up  the  eastern  horizon 
as  we  sallied  forth,  with  our  staffs  and  guide,  from  the  solitary 
walls  of  the  old  Casa.  All  was  black  and  craggy  under  foot, 
and  the  sharp  gusts  of  wind  moaned  gloomily  against  the 
rugged  masses  of  lava  as  we  wound  our  way  among  them. 
Neither  path  nor  trace  was  perceptible  to  us  now,  for  tho 
earth  was  covered  with  beds  of  dark  lava  ;  yet  onward  strode 
Pedro,  with  the  same  sure  and  steady  tread,  looking  neither 
to  the  right  nor  the  left,  and  never  for  a  moment  stopping  to 
search  for  the  path.  How  many  times  he  had  gone  up  that 
mountain,  by  day  and  by  night,  when  it-  was  covered  with 
snow  and  when  it  was  wrapt  in  darkness,  in  sunshine  and 
storm,  from  youth  to  the  sere  of  manhood,  not  even  himself 
could  tell.  A  hard  life  it  was  at  best ;  up  and  down  thqse 
dreary  heights  for  mor%  than  twenty  years  ;  a  crust  of  bread 
or  a  bone  now  and  then  from  some  tender-hearted  tourist  to 
Keep  his  spirits  up,  and  a  good  many  sunrises  and  sunsets  to 
feed  his  imagination.  That  Pedro  was  a  man  of  imagination 
was  attested  by  the  number  of  charms  he  wore  to  keep  away 
the  evil  spirits  that  infest  these  lonely  mountains,  and  if  he 
had  thoughts  at  all,  what  strange  thoughts  they  must  have 
been  !  His  whole  world  lay  between  San  Nicolosi  and  the 
crater — a  very  strange  world  in  itself;  a  world  of  burnt  earth, 
of  ashes,  and  lava,  and  sulphur,  and  smoke,  of  wondrous 
fires  and  earthquakes  past,  and  eternal  ruin  and  desolation  in 
the  future.  What  to  others  was  the  great  event  of  a  life  was 
an  every-day  affair  to  Pedro ;  in  his  heels  he  carried  more 
practical  knowledge  of  Etna  than  all  the  learned  men  of 
Europe  carried  in  their  heads.  God  speed  that  grim  and 


46  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY 

stalwart  mountaineer ;  may  his  last  smell  of  brimstone  be 
in  this  world,  and  his  last  ascension  be  into  thafe  better  one 
where  there  is  everlasting  rest  for  the  weary  ! 

From  the  Casa  Inglesa  to  the  highest  crater  occupies 
about  an  hour.  The  direct  elevation  is  about  fourteen  hun- 
dred feet,  but  the  winding  of  the  path  more  than  doubles  the 
distance. 

As  daylight  broke  clear  and  broad  over  the  still  earth,  and 
the  eastern  sky  gleamed  with  the  first  rays  of  the  rising  sun, 
we  reached  the  highest  peak,  and  turned  to  look  down  into 
the  vast  depths  below.  The  whole  island  was  wrapt  in  an 
impenetrable  mass  of  sleeping  clouds ;  covering  mountain,  and 
valley,  and  ocean  as  a  mantle  of  mist,  while  not  a  shadow 
dimmed  the  bright  sky  above.  It  was  thus  upon  the  solitary 
cone  of  Etna,  with  the  broad  lucid  firmament  arched  over 
us,  and  the  vast  sea  of  floating  clouds  outspread  below,  that 
there  uprose  before  us  a  sublime  picture  of  the  shattered  ark, 
as  it  rested  of  old  amid  the  subsiding  floods  on  the  heights  of 
Ararat,  when  the  fountains  of  the  deep  and  the  windows  of 
heaven  were  stopped  and  the  rain  from  heaven  was  restrained. 

On  the  right  and  on  the  left  yawned  a  vast  crater,  lined 
with  banks  of  sulphur  and  ashes ;  and  from  out  the  bowels 
of  the  earth  came  clouds  of  hot  smoke,  rolling  upward  till 
they  vanished  in  the  thin  air  ;  and  a  thousand  fissures  around 
sent  out  jets  of  scalding  steam,  and  smouldering  fires  seemed 
ready  to  burst  forth  and  spread  ruin  and  death  under  their 
seething  floods  of  lava.  And  now,  from  the  bed  of  clouds 
that  rested  on  the  deep,  up  rose  the  sun,  scattering  away  the 
thin  vapors  that  hung  around  his  couch,  and  filling  the  air 
with  his  glorious  radiance  ;  and  the  slumbering  ocean  of  mist 
that  lay  upon  the  valleys  upheaved  under  his  piercing  rays 
of  heat  and  light,  and  gathered  in  around  the  mountain  tops ; 
and  green  valleys,  and  villages,  and  vineyards,  and  gleams 
of  bright  waters  lay  outspread  in  the  calm  of  the  morning,  as 
it  opened  upon  the  shores  and  vales  of  Sicily.  One  gigantic 
shadow,  the  shadow  of  the  mighty  Etna,  stretched  across  the 
lesser  mountains  below  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  ;  and 
the  valleys  beneath  it  were  still  covered  with  clouds  and  the 


THE  CRATER.  47 

darkness  within  the  shadow.  Up  rose  the  sun  higher  ai.d 
still  higher;  and  now  the  floating  vapors  that  rested  upon 
the  earth  disappeared,  and  there  was  nothing  left  but  the 
bright  glowing  abyss  of  mountain  and  valley,  bathed  in  his 
effulgent  rays ;  for  "  his  going  forth  is  from  the  end  of  the 
heaven,  and  his  circuit  unto  the  ends  of  it :  and  there  is  no- 
thing hid  from  the  heat  thereof."  There  was  not  a  breath 
of  air  to  disturb  the  glittering  sea ;  ships  lay  motionless  on 
its  unruffled  surface  ;  and  on  the  shores  glistened,  like  flakes 
of  snow,  the  villages  that  were  washed  by  its  waters.  Far 
in  the  distance  the  towering  mountains  of  Calabria  reared 
their  rugged  peaks,  bounding  the  view  toward  the  east ;  to 
the  north  lay  Messina  and  the  rocks  of  Scylla  and  Charybdis ; 
and  stretching  southward  the  coast  swept  under  the  base  of 
the  mountain ;  its  shores  lined  with  villas  and  towns,  and 
indented  by  the  bays  of  Catania,  Agosta,  and  Syracuse.  Back 
toward  the  west  lay  the  interior  of  Sicily,  a  desert  of  parched 
and  barren  hills,  with  scarce  a  tree  or  spot  of  verdure  to  re- 
lieve the  sterility  of  the  vast  wilderness.  And  now,  as  we 
gazed  entranced  upon  this  scene  of  awful  sublimity,  the  smoke 
rose  up  in  heavy  masses  from  the  crater,  and  whirling  around 
us  with  a  sudden  gust,  shut  out  sea  and  earth,  and  filled  the 
air  with  noxious  gases  ;  and  the  sun  had  a  lurid  and  ghastly 
glare  through  the  gloom,  and  we  thought  the  earth  trembled. 
But  soon  the  gust  passed  away,  and  left  us  unharmed  amid 
the  smouldering  masses  of  ashes  and  sulphur. 

My  friend,  the  Englishman,  considered  the  whole  thing 
"  excessively  fine ;"  in  which  sentiment  I  heartily  agreed 
with  him,  with  the  understanding,  however,  that  it  would 
require  the  simultaneous  rising  of  the  sun,  and  moon,  and  all 
the  stars  to  get  me  up  there  again  in  the  middle  of  the  night ; 
a  sentiment  in  which  we  both  agreed,  and  thus  compromising 
all  previous  diversity  of  tastes,  we  sat  down  in  a  comfortable 
bed  of  sulphur,  and,  warming  our  hands  in  a  jet  of  steam,  lit 
a  couple  of  cigars,  and  smoked  cosily  with  old  Etna. 

It  is  difficult,  without  any  means  of  measurement,  to  give 
«.  correct  idea  of  the  extent  and  depth  of  the  craters  ;  and, 
unfortunately,  I  have  no  books  at  hand  from  which  to  derive 


48  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

the  required  data.  The  extent  of  the  rim  of  the  upper  crater 
must  be  about  three  miles  and  a  half;  the  depth,  as  far 
down  as  the  neck  or  narrowest  part,  perhaps  three  or  four 
hundred  yards.  The  nearest  estimate  we  could  make  of  the 
depth  was  by  rolling  down  large  pieces  of  lava,  and  listening 
to  the  reverberation  made  as  they  struck  for  the  last  time. 
We  went  down  a  short  distance  within  the  rim  of  the  great 
crater  to  collect  some  volcanic  specimens,  but  were  soon  driven 
back  by  the  smoke.  The  sides  are  so  precipitous  that,  to 
make  any  extended  descent  with  safety,  it  would  be  necessary 
to  be  provided  with  ropes  ;  and  then  it  could  only  be  done  in 
very  calm  weather,  when  there  is  but  little  smoke.  I  am 
not  sure  whether  this  feat  has  ever  been  accomplished  ;  but, 
so  far  as  I  could  judge,  there  is  no  reason  why  it  should  not. 
The  crater  of  Mount  Vesuvius  has  been  explored  by  several 
daring  adventurers,  and  there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  greater 
difficulty  in  effecting  the  descent  into  that  of  Mount  Etna. 
For  that  matter,  indeed,  it  requires  neither  ropes  nor  ladders 
to  get  down  ;  start  at  the  top  and  you  are  sure  to  get  to  the 
bottom ;  but  it  might  be  found  agreeable,  after  reaching  the 
bottom,  to  have  some  means  of  getting  up  again. 

Standing  on  the  ridge  between  the  two  craters,  where  there 
is  barely  a  foothold,  I  could  not  help  thinking  how  short  a 
time  it  would  take  to  reach  an  entirely  new  and  unexplored 
region.  A  little  step,  just  a  foot,  would  give  a  sufficient  start; 
and  then  what  a  sliding,  and  rolling,  and  skipping  there  would 
be  !  what  a  whizzing  through  smoke  and  brimstone !  what 
visions  of  devils  and  fiery  furnaces  within  the  bowels  of  the 
earth  !  The  whole  scene  was  worthy  of  Dante.  It  was  ter- 
ribly infernal ;  indeed  I  may  say  it  was  infernally  so.  Even 
old  Pedro,  as  he  stood  wrapt  in  his  shaggy  capote,  looming 
through  the  smoke,  and  peering  over  into  the  seething  abyss, 
looked  diabolical ;  black  and  grim  of  visage  he  stood,  as  good 
a  looking  devil  as  ever  walked  upon  brimstone.  Now,  I  do 
not  mean  to  speak  lightly  of  a  serious  subject ;  but  I  do  think 
no  person  can  visit  the  crater  of  Mount  Etna  without  entei- 
taining  a  much  more  vivid  idea  of  the  lower  regions  than  he 
ever  had  before.  For  my  own  part,  I  dreamt  of  nothing  but 


THE  CRATER.  4<l 

flames  of  sulphur,  huge  figures  with  cloven  feet,  and  little 
dancing  blue  fellows  with  pitchforks  all  the  next  night,  which 
I  assure  you,  on  my  honor,  was  not  the  effect  of  a  bad  con- 
science, but  altogether  the  result  of  the  vivid  impression  cre- 
ated in  viewing  the  craler. 

We  remained  on  the  summit  about  two  hours,  enjoying  all 
the  changes  of  light  and  shade  produced  by  the  rising  of  the 
sun  and  the  dispersing  of  the  light  clouds  that  rested  in  the 
lower  strata  of  air.  An  entirely  clear  sunrise  might  have  af- 
forded us  a  more  extended  prospect,  but  we  were  satisfied  it 
could  not  have  presented  such  a  magnificent  combination  of 
atmospheric  phenomena.  Some  traveler  speaks  of  having 
seen  the  Island  of  Malta  with  the  naked  eye  from  this  point ; 
but,  although  the  weather  was  tolerably  clear  before  we  com- 
menced our  descent,  we  saw  nothing  of  it.  It  is  quite  pos- 
sible, however,  and  not  at  all  improbable.  The  distance  can 
not  be  more  than  a  hundred  and  twenty  miles — the  nearest 
point  of  Sicily  from  Malta  being  about  eighty  miles  ;  and  it  is 
a  common  thing  in  Malta  on  any  clear  day  to  have  a  distinct 
view  of  Mount  Etna.  I  have  myself  seen  the  Andes,  in  ap- 
proaching Callao,  at  the  distance  of  a  hundred  and  twenty 
miles.  It  is  perhaps  easier  to  see  a  great  distance,  looking 
upward  through  an  atmosphere  decreasing  in  density,  where 
there  is  a  distinct  outline,  than  downward  through  a  less 
transparent  medium,  where  there  may  be  no  outline.  I  have 
often  seen  land  from  the  deck  of  a  vessel  when  it  could  not 
be  seen  from  the  masthead.  The  Peak  of  Pico  has  been  seen 
at  the  distance  of  a  hundred  and  twenty  miles,  and  the  Peak 
of  Tenerifle  at  a  still  greater  distance. 

Our  descent  to  San  Nicolosi  was  of  course  a  good  deal 
easier  and  rather  more  pleasant  than  the  night's  journey  up. 
With  the  mules  it  occupied  very  nearly  the  same  time  ;  but 
I  had  become  quite  convinced  that  there  was  a  prejudice 
against  rne  on  the  part  of  the  whole  mule  species  ^.1  had  turn- 
ed involuntary  somersets  from  divers  mules  ;  I  had  been  bit- 
ten at  and  kicked  at  by  mules  ;  I  had  endeavored  to  befriend 
mules  by  leading  them  up  steep  hills  instead  of  riding  them, 
and  they  were  always  sure  to  pull  back  and  try  to  go  down  , 
G 


50  A  GIRA  THEOUGH  SICILY 

I  had  attempted  to  lead  them  down  hill,  and  they  invariahly 
insisted  upon  going  up  ;  I  had  bought  mules  at  three  hundred 
dollars,  that  looked  well  on  the  morning  of  the  purchase, 
hut  found  they  could  not  go  by  night,  in  consequence  of  be- 
ing foundered  ;  in  sober  truth,  my  talent  did  not  lie  in  the 
navigation  or  management  of  mules  ;  so  I  walked.  A  walk 
down  Mount  Etna  includes  a  slide  of  about  a  mile  from  the 
edge  of  the  crater,  which  I  must  tell  you  about. 

Commencing  near  the  crater  is  a  steep  bank  of  ashes  and 
cinders,  extending  nearly  to  the  Casa  Inglesa,  by  which  the 
trip  is  made  with  a  locomotive  speed  quite  delightful.  Peep- 
ing over  the  brink  of  the  precipice,  you  enter  into  a  calcula 
tion  as  to  the  probability  of  having  your  limbs  dislocated,  in 
case  you  should  strike  some  unseen  rock ;  and  about  the  time 
you  become  satisfied  that  A  leg  or  an  arm  must  be  sacrifice^!, 
there  rises  a  dust  some  hundred  yards  below,  and  you  see  a 
large  dark  body  bouncing  down  like  a  man  of  India  rubber, 
scattering  cinders  and  ashes  before  it,  and  yelling  like  a  demon 
Away  it  goes,  rising  and  jumping  and  tossing,  till  it  looks  liko 
a  great  black  bird  hopping  down  into  the  gulf  of  lava  below, 
dwindling  as  it  goes,  till  you  see  nothing  but  a  dark  speck. 
Then  down  dashes  another  and  another,  and  you  see  that  it 
must  be  old  Pedro  leading  the  way,  and  the  stragglers  fol- 
lowing. Committing  yourself  to  Providence,  you  draw  a  long 
breath  and  jump  over  too ;  and  then,  Per  Baccho,  how  you 
go  ;  up  to  your  ankles  in  cinders,  ten  feet  every  jump  !  The 
wind  whistles  through  your  hair  ;  you  half  shut  your  eyes  to 
keep  out  the  dust  that  has  been  raised  by  the  guides  ;  you 
shout  like  a  drunken  man,  without  knowing  why,  Hurra  ! 
glorious  !  splendid  traveling  this  !  hold  me  somebody !  stop 
me,  Pedro  !  by  Jupiter  there  goes  my  hat  !  I  knew  it  couldn't 
stay  on  !  for  heaven's  sake  belay  me  !  It  is  no  use,  nobody 
will  belay  you  !  There  you  go,  faster  and  faster  at  every 
jump,  till  ifou  don't  know  which  end  will  come  out  first. 
Now  you  bet  ten  to  one  that  your  feet  will  win  the  race ; 
now  a  hidden  mass  of  lava  brings  them  up  with  a  sudden 
jerk,  and  you'd  lay  heavy  odds  on  the  end  of  your  nose — yes, 
the  nose  must  win  ;  you  feel  the  premonitory  jar  as  it  neara 


THE    CRATER. 


51 


the  end  of  the  track  ;  terror  seizes  your  soul ;  you  jump  des- 
perately ten,  twenty,  thirty  feet  at  every  bound,  twisting 
yourself  back  in  the  air  like  a  cat ;  you  vow  in  your  agony  of 
rnind  that  you  Avill  never  drop  poor  puss  over  the  bannisters 
again  in  order  to  see  her  land  on  her  feet :  another  leap,  an- 
other twist  does  it ;  your  feet  are  in  the  air,  and  you  go  sail- 
ing down  gallantly  on  the  seat  of  your  breeches.  Hurra  !  clear 
the  track,  there  !  don't  stop  me  !  glorious  !  splendid  !  Here  we 
are.  Pedro,  all  right ;  keep  a  look  out  for  my  hat,  it'll  be  down 
here  presently  !  Bless  my  soul,  what  a  slide  that  was  ! 


Emerging  from  the  oak  forest,  three  hours  below,  the  view 
in  the  noon-day  sun  is  beautiful  beyond  description.  The 
whole  semi-circle  of  valleys  and  mountains,  villages  and 
vineyards,  as  seen  through  the  vistas  of  dark  foliage,  seems 
hung  in  the  golden  atmosphere  like  some  magnificent  scenic 
illusion  ;  bright  and  glowing,  and  full  of  rich  coloring.  The 
tinkling  of  the  goat-bells  from  the  rocks  below,  the  songs  of 
the  shepherds,  and  the  mellowed  sounds  of  life  from  the  dis- 
tant valleys,  rise  upon  the  still  air  like  the  murmuring  of 
dreamy  music  ;  and  around  about  us  the  earth  was  fragrant 
with  wild  flowers  ;  and  the  gnarled  old  oaks  made  a  pleasant 
shade. 


52  A  GIRA  THftOUGH  SICILY. 

In  due  time  we  reached  the  locanda,  at  San  Nicolosi, 
where  we  enjoyed  a  good  wash  and  a  dinner  that  did  great 
honor  to  the  padrone.  We  called  again  upon  Senor  Gem- 
mellero,  to  give  in  our  experience ;  and,  having  satisfactorily 
acquitted  ourselves  in  the  way  of  buono  manos  to  the  guides 
and  domestics,  we  set  out  toward  evening  for  Catania.  This 
time  my  old  charger  acquitted  himself  to  the  admiration  of 
the  entire  community,  local  and  migratory,  between  San  Ni- 
colosi and  Catania.  Falling  asleep  at  the  very  first  step,  he 
dropped  his  head  between  his  fore  legs  and  his  tail  between 
his  hind  legs,  and,  thus  comfortably  indifferent  to  public 
opinion,  jogged  on  at  so  sleepy  a  pace  that  it  was  a  miracle 
how  we  ever  reached  Catania.  Such  indeed  was  the  force 
of  example,  and  the  striking  pictorial  effect  of  both  horse  and 
rider,  that  the  venerable  muleteer — a  fat  old  gentleman  of 
fifty,  who  rode  behind — fell  into  a  fit  of  musing,  from  which  he* 
gradually  fell  into  a  pleasant  doze,  and  from  the  doze  he  fell 
into  a  profound  sleep  ;  then  he  swayed  from  one  side  to  the 
other,  and  bobbed  down  in  front  and  bobbed  back  again,  and 
then  started  out  of  horrible  dreams ;  and  nodded  again,  and 
fell  asleep  again  as  hard  as  ever  ;  and  at  last,  as  I  had  prophe- 
sied from  the  beginning,  fell  off"  his  mule.  Down  in  the  dust 
he  lay  for  as  much  as  two  minutes  in  a  state  of  mute  aston- 
ishment. "  Sacramento!"  said  he,  getting  up  and  shaking 
the  dust  off,  as  soon  as  he  found  that  no  bones  were  broken , 
"  Acddenta,  Donna  Maria,  Santa  Sophia!"  And,  climbing 
up  again  on  the  mule,  he  belabored  the  unfortunate  animal 
with  such  vigor  and  good  will  that  it  danced  Sicilian  waltzes 
w1!  the  rest  of  the  way  into  Catania. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A    QUARREL    WITH    THE^  ANCIENTS. 

THERE  is  not  much  to  be  said  of  Catania  in  addition  to 
what  is  said  in  the  guide-books.  It  is  a  dirty,  shambling  old 
place,  a  good  deal  like  all  other  towns  in  Sicily,  and  owes 
any  interest  that  it  may  now  possess  to  its  history.  Here  it 
was  that  Polyphemus  and  his  Cyclopes  had  their  local  habita- 
tion ;  here  was  the  port  of  Ulysses ;  and  Thalia  and  her  sons, 
the  Palici,  were  of  Catanian  memoiy ;  and  here  dwelt  suc- 
cessively the  Egyptian  shepherds,  the  Sicanians,  and  the 
Romans,  and  the  Saracens,  and  the  Normans,  and  heaven 
knows  how  many  other  useless  and  quarrelsome  people,  who 
did  nothing  but  build  temples  and  churches  and  kill  each 
other.  Mount  Etna  was  not  half  so  cruel  as  these  cut-throat 
races,  whose  deeds  are  blazoned  forth  in  history  for  the  ad- 
miration of  mankind.  Not  all  the  burning  lava  that  ever 
desolated  the  plains  of  Sicily  has  done  a  hundredth  part  of 
the  killing  so  gloriously  done  by  the  blood-thirsty  hordes  that 
slew  their  fellow-creatures  on  these  very  plains.  Every  ruin, 
every  column,  every  moss-covered  stone  is  a  history  of  ferocious 
wars.  The  cathedrals  and  crucifixes  are  baptized  in  blood, 
and  the  tombs  of  the  slayers  of  men  are  worshiped. 

The  flames  of  Etna  were  not  enough  ;  famine  and  pesti- 
lence were  too  slow ;  so  the  great  warriors  of  old  swept  whole 
tribes  from  the  lace  of  the  earth,  and  built  grand  cathedrals, 
and  temples,  and  amphitheatres,  and  aqueducts,  and  public 
baths,  and  reigned  in  triumph  till  greater  warriors  slew  them, 
and  razed  their  churches,  and  temples,  and  fine  edifices;  and 
history  glorified  them  in  turn,  and  they  did  great  deeds  in 
turn,  and  were  slain. 


04  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

It  was  civilization,  all  this.  We  know  it,  because  we  see 
the  broken  statuary  and  the  ruins  of  palaces  and  war- battered 
castles  that  tell  us  of  their  deeds  ;  and  we  are  told  that  such 
things  could  not  be  done  in  the  present  benighted  state  of  art 
and  architectural  knowledge.  There  was  Homer,  and  Virgil, 
too,  to  sing  the  glories  of  war ;  and  there  was  Thucydides 
and  a  thousand  others  to  make  killing  mighty  in  the  world's 
history ;  and  even  the  rnist  of  centuries  has  not  obscured  the 
deeds  therein  described.  Arid  those  heroes  are  still  worshiped. 
The  precious  years  of  youth  are  spent  in  the  study  of  these 
dark  histories ;  thousands  who  scarce  can  write  their  mother 
tongue  are  taught  to  chant  the  glories  of  war  in  the  dead 
languages,  that  they  may  be  versed  in  the  bloody  lore  of 
classic  times.  Oh,  wondrous  people  !  Oh,  mighty  kings  and 
chieftains  !  Listen  to  a  few  plain  facts.  I  am  going  to  ad- 
dress you  solemnly  in  your  tombs,  and  post  you  up  concerning 
the  nineteenth  century.  Tourists  have  so  long  sung  your 
praises  that  I  mean  to  make  a  martyr  of  myself  by  telling 
you  the  truth. 

It  is  quite  true,  as  enthusiastic  travelers  say,  that  your 
temples,  and  castles,  and  palaces  are  splendid  specimens  of 
architecture ;  that  your  baths  are  on  the  grandest  scale ;  that 
your  statuary  is  wonderfully  beautiful ;  that  you  lived  in  a 
style  of  magnificence  unknown  to  the  people  of  the  present 
day,  except  through  your  poets  and  historians  ;  that  all  the 
relics  of  antiquity  you  have  left  us  bear  evidence  of  great 
power  and  extraordinary  skill.  But  you  were  a  barbarous  peo- 
ple at  best.  The  very  splendor  of  your  works  is  an  evidence 
01  your  barbarism.  "What  oceans  of  money  you  spent  on  palaces, 
and  tombs,  and  mausoleums  !  What  an  amount  of  human 
labor  you  lavished  in  doing  nothing  !  If  the  Pyramids  of  Egypt 
were  ten  miles  high  instead  of  a  few  hundred  feet,  would 
the  world  be  any  the  better  for  it — would  the  mass  of  man- 
kind be  more  enlightened,  or  more  virtuous,  or  more  happy  ? 
If  the  Coliseum  a,,  Rome  had  accommodated  fifty  millions 
of  people  instead  of  fifty  thousand,  would  it  have  taught  them 
the  blessings  of  peace  and  good  government,  or  disseminated 
useful  knowledge  among  them  ?  If  all  your  palaces  were 


A  QUARREL  WITH  THE  ANCIENTS.  53 

built  of  pure  gold  instead  of  marble,  would  it  have  caused 
the  thousands  of  human  beings  that  you  were  continually 
embroiling  in  war  to  entertain  a  more  fraternal  spirit  toward 
each  other  ?  True,  we  go  to  war  now  and  then  ourselves  in 
this  the  nineteenth  century ;  but  it  is  not  the  chief  business 
of  our  lives  ;  we  do  something  else  that  is  better.  We  don't 
build  pyramids  and  coliseums,  but  we  butld  railroads.  The 
smallest  steamboat  that  paddles  its  way  up  the  Hudson  is 
greater  than  the  greatest  monument  of  antiquity,  and  does 
more  to  promote  the  civilization  and  happiness  of  mankind ; 
the  wires  of  our  electric  telegraphs  carry  more  power  in  them 
than  all  the  armies  you  ever  brought  into  battle.  And,  for 
the  matter  of  magnificent  temples,  if  we  had  the  time  and 
money  to  waste,  we  could  erect,  for  the  amusement  of  kings, 
and  women,  and  children,  toys  a  great  deal  bigger  and  quite 
as  useless.  Your  literature,  your  poetry  and  arts,  only  show 
how  much  the  gifts  of  God  may  be  perverted  to  bad  purposes. 
"War,  and  murder,  and  rapine,  lust  and  bestiality,  are  the 
chief  subjects  of  inspiration  in  what  has  been  handed  down 
to  us ;  yet  we  are  asked  to  bow  down  to  you  with  a  blind 
adoration !  You  had  your  merits  and  your  weaknesses,  just 
as  we  have  ;  the  greatest  of  you  had  as  much  littleness  as 
the  greatest  of  us  now  ;  you  were  just  as  weak,  just  as  mor- 
tal, and  a  great  deal  more  ignorant.  Feasting,  and  fighting, 
and  toy-making  made  you  distinguished.  We  will  profit  by 
your  follies,  and  endeavor  to  earn  a  name  in  ages  to  come  by 
encompassing  the  earth  with  the  blessings  of  freedom  and 
civilization. 

It  is  very  unkind,  I  admit,  to  talk  to  dead  people  in  this 
way  ;  but  the  fact  is,  one  must  let  off  a  little  indignation  now 
and  then.  Of  late  I  have  been  traveling  with  a  friend  so 
overcharged  with  admiration  for  the  antique,  and  so  deeply 
imbued  with  classical  literature,  that  it  is  quite  a  relief  to  be 
revenged  by  an  explosion.  I  have  patiently  endured  broiling 
in  the  burning  sun  that  he  might  enjoy  an  old  stone  with  an 
illegible  inscription  on  it,  and  walked  for  miles  in  search  of 
tombs  under  which  were  buried  men  whose  names  I  had 
never  heard  before  ;  I  have  listened  for  hours  to  learned  dis* 


56  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

courses  on  the  wars  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  in  which,  Ic 
be  candid,  I  felt  no  interest  whatever  ;  for  what  consequence 
was  it  to  a  peaceful  wayfarer  like  myself — simply  an  honorary 
General  in  the  Bobtail  Militia — how  many  were  killed  on 
certain  occasions,  or  who  were  the  best  cut-throats  of  ancient 
times  ?  All  this  I  have  done  from  the  purest  good-nature. 
But  now  the  renftmbrance  of  roasting  suns,  and  long  walks 
for  nothing,  and  longer  discourses,  and  lost  dinners,  conies 
upon  me  with  such  force  that  I  must  have  some  satisfaction 
Yea,  have  I  not  seen  men  prate  learnedly  about  Titian,  and 
Rubens,  and  Guercino,  who  scarce  knew  red  from  blue ;  and 
young  ladies  go  into  ecstasies  over  a  splendid  Corinthian  col- 
umn, which  was  Doric,  or  an  antique  fresco  which  was  painted 
about  a  dozen  years  ago  ? 

We  were  overtaken  at  Catania  by  a  Portuguese  gentleman 
and  his  wife,  fellow-passengers  in  the  Neapolitan  steamer 
from  Naples  to  Palermo.  Doctor  Mendoza  was  a  man  of  the 
world  and  a  philosopher,  and  we  were  very  glad  to  join  him 
in  an  extra  diligence  to  Syracuse.  He  was  rich  in  worldly 
possessions,  and,  like  a  good  many  tourists  whom  we  had 
met,  traveled  chiefly  to  kill  time  and  hunt  up  the  best  hotels. 
There  was  no  good  hotel  on  the  top  of  Mount  Etna,  so  he 
staid  at  the  "  Corunna,"  in  Catania;  "because,"  said  he,  "I 
can  see  Mount  Etna  from  my  window."  Having  ascertained 
that  there  was  a  good  hotel  at  Syracuse,  he  concluded  to  go ; 
and  he  kindly  entertained  us  on  the  road  with  a  detailed  ac- 
count of  the  hotels  through  Germany,  Switzerland,  Poland, 
and  Russia,  dwelling  with  particular  enthusiasm  upon  the 
style  in  which  they  get  up  hotels  in  St.  Petersburg.  He  had 
been  traveling  constantly  for  three  years  in  search  of  good 
hotels ;  if  he  had  any  guarantee  that  there  were  hotels  in 
Athens  and  Jerusalem  he  would  go  there,  but  had  not  yet 
made  up  his  mind  to  run  so  great  a  risk.  The  interest  of  a 
country  depended  altogether  upon  the  excellence  of  its  hotels. 
It  was  a  matter  of  surprise  to  me  how  a  man  should  go  to  so 
much  expense  to  find  comfortable  accommodations  in  uncom- 
fortable countries,  when  he  could  have  found  them  so  much 
Jhetter  and  so  much  cheaper  at  home  or  in  Paris.  Nor  was 


A  QUARREL  WITH  THE  ANCIENTS.  57 

my  Portuguese  friend  alone  in  this  mania  for  good  hotels.  I 
have  seen  English  tourists,  and  I  am  sorry  to  say  some  Amer 
icans,  made  perfectly  miserable  by  being  compelled  to  pass 
the  night  in  a  respectable  country  inn,  where  the  accommo- 
dations were  not  so  good  as  those  of  the  Parisian  hotels. 

c* 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ADVENTURES  ON  THE  ROAD  TO  SYRACUSE. 

THE  morning  was  bright  and  bracing  as  our  diligence  rat- 
tled out  of  the  streets  of  Catania,  our  little  postillion  as  sparky 
as  a  red-bird  in  his  jacket  and  feathers  ;  our  conductor  as 
sleepy  as  conductors  usually  are,  and  our  horses  as  long  and 
lean  and  full  of  latent  fire  as  the  diligence  horses  of  Sicily 
are  in  general.  The  road  for  seven  or  eight  miles  was  along 
the  shores  of  the  bay  over  a  low  plain,  passing  a  few  scatter- 
ing farm-houses  and  some  of  the  battle-fields  famous  in  the 
history  of  the  early  Sicilian  wars.  About  seven  miles  from 
Catania  we  crossed  the  river  Simeto,  the- largest,  I  believe,  in 
Sicily.  The  plain  through  which  the  Simeto  runs  is  of  great 
extent,  and  abounds  in  fine  meadow  lands.  Numbers  of 
thatched  cottages,  of  conical  shape  like  hay-stacks,  are  scat- 
tered along  the  banks  of  the  river,  having  a  very  peculiar 
and  picturesque  effect.  We  all  dismounted  at  the  ferry,  and 
were  ferried  across  in  a  dilapidated  boat,  which  miraculously 
reached  the  opposite  bank  without  sinking.  The  road  now 
turned  slightly  inland,  over  rough  barren  hills,  passing  near 
Lake  Beviero,  or  the  Lake  of  Lentino,  a  pretty  little  fish-pond, 
till  we  reached  the  town  of  Lentini,  where  the  horses  are 
changed.  Lentini  is  the  modern  name  of  Leontinum.  once 
ranked  among  the  most  powerful  cities  of  Sicily.  It  possessed 
in  olden  times  handsome  temples,  rich  public  edifices,  a  pal- 
estra, and  various  works  of  art,  but  was  laid  waste  during 
the  wars ;  and  now  scarcely  a  trace  remains  of  its  ancient 
grandeur.  It  is  a  wretched  collection  of  dirty  dilapidated 
houses,  with  a  population  of  filthy  and  half-barbarous  peas- 
antry. 


ADVENTURES  ON  THE  ROAD  TO  SYRACUSE.          59 

Here  commenced  that  series  of  calamities  to'which  I  have 
already  incidentally  referred.  Eighteen  miles  in  the  bracing 
morning  air  had  given  us  a  ravenous  appetite.  The  Hotel 
de  Parigi  was  recommended  by  our  driver  as  the  best  in  the 
place,  and  although  it  bore  very  little  resemblance  to  any  thing 
we  had  ever  seen  in  Paris,  being  about  as  black  and  dirty  a 
looking  locanda  as  could  well  be  found  in  Sicily,  we  ascended 
through  the  hostlery  to  a  large  bare  room,  with  a  table  in  the 
middle,  and  half  a  dozen  wooden  chairs  ranged  round  the 
walls,  and  called  for  qualcJie  cosa  mangera — in  plain  English, 
something  to  eat.  The  padrona,  a  sour-looking  woman,  eyed 
us  with  a  speculative  glance,  having  reference  to  the  size  of 
our  purses,  and  said  :  "  We  have  nothing  but  eggs  and  bread, 
signores ;  the  meat  has  been  devoured  by  a  party  that  have 
just  gone  ahead."  "  Very  well,  then,"  said  we,  "  let  us  have 
the  eggs  and  bread  as  soon  as  possible."  In  about  half  an 
hour  we  had  a  scanty  collazione  of  fried  eggs,  to  which  we 
did  as  much  justice  as  the  subject  permitted.  "  Now,  pa- 
drona, what  is  to  pay  ?"  "  What  you  wish,  signores."  "  No, 
no ;  you  must  fix  your  own  price."  "  Then,  as  you  have 
had  nothing  but  eggs  and  bread,  we  will  only  charge  you  two 
dollars."  "  Two  dollars  !  why  that  is  impossible.  We  have 
only  had  a  dozen  eggs  and  a  little  bread  !"  "  Well  then,  say 
a  dollar  and  a  half;  that  is  very  little  for  four  persons,  sig- 
nores." We  paid  the  dollar  and  a  half,  and  considered  our- 
selves very  cleverly  done.  As  we  were  about  to  leave,  our 
hostess  reminded  us  of  another  small  charge — three  carlins 
for  the  room.  "  What !"  said  we,  in  an  honest  fit  of  indig- 
nation, "  do  you  mean  to  say  we  are  to  pay  for  the  privilege 
of  eating  your  miserable  collazione  in  this  barn  of  a  place  ?" 
"  Of  course,  signores,  you  have  had  the  use  of  the  room." 
"  Very  true,  but  did  you  think  we  were  going  to  eat  out  of 
doors  ?"  "  By  no  means,  and  that  is  the  reason  why  I  charge 
you  for  the  accommodation  of  the  room."  It  was  no  use  to 
argue  against  a  system  of  reasoning  so  cogent  as  this ;  the 
postillion  was  calling  to  us  to  come  on ;  so  we  paid  the  three 
carlins  for  the  use  of  the  room.  Passing  out,  we  were  at- 
tacked by  a  dirty  cuisine,  who  demanded  a  trifling  remuner- 


60  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

ation  for  her"  services.     "Please  your  excellencies,  I  cooked 
breakfast  for  you  !"     "  The  deuce  you  did  !  how  do  you  sup- 
pose we  could  eat  it  unless  it  was  cooked  ?     Are  people  in 
the  habit  of  eating  breakfast  raw  at  the  Hotel  de  Parigi  ?" 
"  No,  signores,  I  cook  it  for  them,  and  they  always  give  me 
something  for  my  trouble."     It  was  no  use  to  rebel ;  the  cook 
hung  to  us  like  a  leech,  and  it  was  only  by  paying  her  three 
carlins  that  we  could  extricate  ourselves  from  her  clutches. 
"  Thank  Heaven,  we  are  done  now  !"  was  our  involuntary 
exclamation,  as  we  made  our  exit.     "  Aspetto,  signores,"  said 
a  voice  behind,  "you  have  forgotten  the  facchino."     "The 
what?"     "  The  porter,  gentlemen."     "  And  pray  what  have 
you  done  for  us  ?"     "I  attend  to  the  baggage,  signores." 
"  But  we  have  no  baggage  here  ;  it  is  all  in  the  diligence." 
"  Ah,  that  makes  no  difference  ;  I  could  have  carried  it  for 
you  :  I  must  live,  you  know,  and  this  is  all  the  pay  I  get  to 
support  a  large  family."     The  claim  was  irresistible  ;  we  re- 
belled at  first,  but  it  was  no  use,  the  facchino  followed  us  till 
we  had  to  give  him  a  few  baiocci  to  get  rid  of  him.     "  Well, 
this  beats  Italy  all  hollow,"  was  our  unanimous  conclusion, 
as  we  took  our  respective  seats  in  the  diligence,  and  began  to 
enjoy  the  luxuries  of  sunshine  and  cigars,  after  the  storm 
through  which  we  had  passed.   "Buono  mano,"  said  our  small 
postillion.      "For  what,  you  rascal?"      "For  driving  you." 
"But  you  did  not  drive  us  ;  you  were  asleep  all  the  time  :  we 
won't  pay  you !"     However,  we  did  pay  him,  after  a  great 
deal  of  talking.     "  Drive  on  now,"  shouted  the  Englishman. 
"Andate!"  roared  the  Portuguese.     "Go  ahead,"  said  I. 
"  Aspetta,  senores,"  cried  the  hostler  ;  "  buono  mano  for  the 
hostler."     "We  threw  the  hostler  a  few  carlins,  and  shouted, 
"Drive  on,  andate!  go  ahead  again!"     "Aspetta!"  cried 
the  hostler,  "  this  is  an  extra  diligence ;  extra  diligences  are 
always  double  price.     Besides,  it  is  two  posts  from  Catania, 
and  you  have  only  paid  for  one  change  of  horses."     "  Didbo- 
lo,"  roared  the  Portuguese,  "  we  have  only  had  one  change, 
and  that  has  just  been  put  in  now."     "  Stunning  business 
this,"  said  the  Englishman.     "  Done  brown  !"  said  I.     "  True, 
Bonores,  but  you  must  pay  for  the  half-way  post."     "  There 


ADVENTURES  ON  THE  ROAD  TO  SYRACUSE.          t>\ 

is  no  post  there,  you  scoundrel — no  horses — nothing  at  all !" 
"  Daverro,  signores,  but  these  horses  have  done  double  duty; 
so  they  must  be  paid  for,  or  they  can't  go  on ! '  This  was 
too  bad.  "Cospetto.'"  shrieked  the  Portuguese.  "  Exces- 
sively annoying  !"  said  the  Englishman.  "  Great  country  !" 
said  I — "  great  country,  gentlemen  !"  We  unanimously  de- 
termined that  we  would  not  pay  for  changing  horses,  when 
no  such  change  was  made.  "  Go  to  the  devil  with  your 
horses,  then  ;  we  won't  pay  a  cent  more."  "  Va  bene,  se- 
nores  !"  replied  the  hostler,  very  coolly  unhitching  the  horses, 
and  leading  them  off  to  the  stable.  "  I'll  go  to  the  devil  to 
oblige  you,  signores  ;  but  I  can't  go  to  Syracuse  till  the  half- 
way post  is  paid  for.  You  will  have  to  go  on  without  horses, 
that's  all." 

Here  was  a  predicament  !  The  inhabitants  of  the  classi- 
cal city  of  Lentini  were  pouring  down  from  all  the  neighbor- 
ing streets  to  see  the  diligence  that  was  bound  to  Syracuse 
without  horses.  Matrons  with  children  in  their  arms  held  up 
their  precious  babes  to  see  the  sight ;  piratical-lookipg  fellows 
gathered  around  and  examined  us  with  a  deliberate  and  spec- 
ulative stare  ;  the  little  boys  shouted  merrily,  and  called  the 
attention  of  all  straggling  acquaintances  to  the  pole  of  the 
diligence  that  pointed  toward  Syracuse,  but  wouldn't  pull  for 
want  of  horses  !  What  was  to  be  done  ?  Go  to  the  Mayor  ? 
Perhaps  there  was  none,  and  if  there  was,  who  knew  the 
way  ?  "  Senores,"  said  the  hostler,  in  a  soothing  tone,  per- 
ceiving our  distress  of  mind,  "  you  had  better  pay  me,  and 
allow  me  the  pleasure  of  putting  the  horses  in."  We  con- 
sidered the  advice,  and  took  it.  It  was  rather  humiliating  to 
our  feelings;  but  we  were  hemmed  in  with  difficulties  on 
all  sides ;  in  vain  we  looked  round  upon  the  crowd  ;  not  a 
sympathizing  face  was  there  ;  not  a  soul  to  pity  us  in  our 
misfortunes.  The  pervading  sentiment  seemed  to  be — "  Hit 
'em  again  !  they've  got  no  friends  !"  There  was  one  universal 
shout  of  laughter  as  the  postillion  cracked  his  whip,  and  drove 
us  rattling  out  of  Lentini.  I  turned  to  look  back  as  we  as- 
cended the  hill,  and  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  hostler,  who  was 
etill  bowing  to  us  with  the  utmost  gravity  and  politeness.  If 


62  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

ever  I  meet  that  man  on  Pennsylvania  avenue,  it  is  my  set 
tied  intention  to  do  him  personal  violence. 

As  to  the  sparky  little  postillion  who  drove  us  so  furiously 
out  of  Catania,  and  who  afterwards  fell  asleep  when  there 
was  nobody  on  the  roadside  to  admire  his  driving,  1  have  him 
safe  enough.  Here  he  is.  Public  indignation  is  respectfully 
solicited  : 


The  individual  mounted  upon  that  horse,  swindled  us  out 
of  two  carlins.  "What  he  did  with  so  much  money  it  would 
be  impossible  to  say  ;  he  may  have  put  it  in  his  boots  for  safe 
keeping;  but  he  certainly  could  not  have  deposited  his  ill- 
gotten  gains  in  his  coat-pockets.  I  only  know  that  we  paid 
him  the  sum  above  specified  for  doing  certain  duties  that  he 
never  performed  ;  and  that  implicit  confidence  is  not  to  be 
placed  in  a  man  simply  because  he  wears  a  feather  in  his  hat, 


ADVENTURES  ON  THE  ROAD  TO  SYRACUSE.          63 

a  jacket  with  red  cloth  embroidery  and  small  tails,  and  a  pair 
of  top-boots,  big  enough  to  bury  him  in  when  he  dies. 

From  Lentini  to  Syracuse  the  distance  by  the  public  road 
is  twenty-four  miles,  making  the  entire  distance  from  Catania 
forty-four  miles.  After  leaving  the  valley  of  the  Simeto,  the 
country  becomes  barren  and  rugged,  and  there  is  very  little 
to  attract  the  attention  of  the  traveler.  What  the  appear- 
ance of  the  country  may  be  in  spring  I  had  no  means  of  as- 
certaining ;  but  certainly  a  more  desolate  picture  of  poverty 
and  barrenness  I  never  saw  than  it  presents  in  the  month  of 
October.  Naked  hills  of  parched  earth  and  bleak  rocks ;  a 
few  miserable  vineyards,  either  entirely  without  fencing,  or 
surrounded  by  ragged  hedges  of  prickly  pear  ;  villages  rudely 
built  of  stone,  without  shade  or  comfort,  and  in  a  wretched 
state  of  ruin  ;  an  occasional  mule  with  a  load,  driven  by  a 
man  of  beard  and  rags  ;  a  gang  of  beggars,  as  voracious  as  a 
pack  of  wild  beasts  ;  here  and  there  a  half-naked  and  with- 
ered woman,  with  the  rough  features  of  a  man,  scratching 
the  ground  with  a  hoe,  or  tottering  under  a  heavy  burden, 
while  her  husband  lies  basking  in  the  sun  ;  litters  of  dirty  chil- 
dren rooting  in  the  mud,  without  covering  of  any  kind — these 
are  the  sights  that  one  sees  on  the  road  to  the  ancient  City 
of  the  Sun,  the  abode  of  gods  whose  shrines  no  longer  burn. 

In  a  few  hours  from  Lentini  we  had  a  good  view  of  the 
Cape  St.  Crocc  and  the  town  of  Agosta.  Giovanni  Power, 
whose  "  Guida  di  Sicilia"  I  have  now  before  me,  says  of 
Agosta  that  it  is  supposed  to  have  risen  out  of  the  ruins  cf 
Megara,  and  Megara  from  those  of  the  little  Keybla.  It  was 
there,  according  to  Herodotus,  that  the  people  were  sold  at 
auction,  in  the  time  of  Gelon. 

From  an  eminence,  as  we  approached  Syracuse,  we  had  a 
very  pretty  view  of  Ortigia,  the  only  inhabited  part  of  the 
ancient  city.  It  is  built  on  an  island  connected  to  the  main 
land  by  a  long  pier  and  a  bridge,  and  strongly  fortified  by 
high  walls,  forts,  and  castles. 

The  number  of  gates,  bridges,  fortified  arches,  and  vaulted 
passages  through  which  one  is  driven  before  he  can  fairly 
consider  himself  within  the  walls  of  Ortigia  quite  surpasses 


C4 


A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 


all  powers  of  computation.  When  the  diligence  stopped  at  one 
of  the  outer  gates,  we  were  carefully  inspected  by  a  couple  of 
officers,  in  flashy  uniforms  and  feathers,  who  politely  request- 
ed us  to  allow  them  the  pleasure  of  looking  at  our  passports. 
One  stood  a  little  in  the  background,  with  pens,  ink,  and 
paper  in  his  hand  :  he  was  evidently  a  subordinate  character, 
notwithstanding  the  brilliancy  of  his  plumage,  which,  from  a 
hasty  estimate,  I  calculated  to  consist  of  the  tails  of  three 
game-cocks  ;  the  other  was  a  portly  man,  of  grave  and  dig- 
nified demeanor,  rich  in  tin  buttons  and  red  cloth,  epaulets, 
and  with  a  mustache  that  would  have  done  credit  to  the 
Governor  himself ;  in  fact,  I  thought  at  first  that  he  was  the 
Governor,  so  imposing  was  his  personal  appearance.  The 


passports  he  opened  slowly  and  cautiously,  either  from  habit- 
ual contempt  of  the  value  of  time,  or  a  latent  suspicion  that 
they  contained  squibs  of  gunpowder  ;  and  at  last,  when  ho 
had  fairly  spread  them  out,  with  the  signatures  inverted,  he 
carefully  scanned  the  contents  for  five  minutes,  and  then 
calmly  addressed  us,  in  bad  Italian ;  "Your  names,  Signores, 
if  you  please."  Our  friend  the  Portuguese,  being  the  oldest, 
was  accorded  the  privilege  of  speaking  first.  "  My  name, 


ADVENTURES  ON  THE  ROAD  TO  SYRACUSE.          65 

Signer,  is  Mcndoza,  and  this  lady  is  my  wife."  "  Grazia, 
Signer."  Then,  turning  to  the  subordinate.  "Put  that 
down — Men-z-z-a.  Va  bene."  After  some  other  questions 
as  to  profession,  place  of  nativity,  &c.,  he  turned  to  the  En- 
glishman, "Your  name,  Signor  ?"  "Mine?  My  name  is 
Norval  :  on  the  Grampian  hills  my  father  feeds  his  flocks,  a 

frugal   swain" "Excuse,    Signor,  what  did    you    say? 

"  Smith,  John  Smith,  if  you  like  it  better  !"  "  Va  bene,  Sig- 
nor; put  that  down:  Giovanni  Smiz;  no,  Semmit — Giovanni 
Semmit."  The  man  with  the  tails  of  the  game-cocks  in  his 
hat  put  it  down.  "  And  your  name,  Signor  ?"  turning  to 
your  humble  servant.  "  Sir,"  said  I,  with  a  dash  of  honest 
pride  in  the  thought  that  I  was  giving  a  name  known  in  the 
remotest  corners  of  the  globe,  "  My  name  is  Brown — John 
Brown,  Americano,  General  in  the  Bobtail  Militia."  "  Gra- 
zia !  Signor,"  said  the  officer,  bowing,  as  I  flattered  myself, 
even  more  profoundly  than  he  had  bowed  to  my  friend 
John  Smith.  "  Put  that  down — Giovanni  Browenni." 
"  BROWN  !"  said  I;  for  I  had  no  idea  of  having  an  honest 
name  so  barbarously  Italianized,  "  Si,  Signor,  Bruvvcn." 
"  No  !"  said  I,  sternly,  "  not  Bruwen — BROWN,  Sir."  "  Si, 
Signor — BRUIN."  "  No,  Sir  !"  said  I,  indignantly,  "  do  you 
take  me  for  a  bear,  Sir  ?  My  name's  BROWN,  Sir."  "  Certo, 
Signore,  BRUIN  !"  And  Bruin  was  written  down  by  the  fea- 
thered man ;  and  so  stands  my  name  to  this  day  in  the  offi- 
cial archives  of  Syracuse — GIOVANNI  BRUIN,  or  JOHN  BEAR. 
After  this  pleasant  little  passage  of  official  dignity  and 
governmental  wisdom,  we  rattled  on  over  a  drawbridge,  and 
under  an  arch,  and  through  half  a  dozen  gates,  and  up  a 
long  pier,  and  through  some  more  gates,  and  finally  into  Or- 
tigia,  or  modern  Syracuse,  where  we  rattled  through  an  in- 
terminable labyrinth  of  narrow  and  dirty  streets,  our  postillion 
alternately  cracking  polkas  with  his  whip,  and  blowing  his 
brains  through  his  horn,  scattering  the  astonished  inhabit- 
ants in  all  directions,  and  running  over  lazy  dogs  in  his  mad 
career.  At  last  we  brought  up  near  the  Hotel  del  Sole, 
where  we  were  dragged  out  of  the  diligence  by  a  whole  regi- 
ment of  ragged  facchini,  and  piloted  into  the  dark  recesses 
of  the  Sole  by  the  bald-headed  Padrone. 


CHAPTER  VITI. 

SYRACUSE. 

AT  this  hotel  (the  Sole)  we  were  so  fortunate  as  to  secure 
the  services  of  a  guide,  who  was  not  only  an  accomplished 
cicerone,  but  an  artist  of  considerable  merit,  and  the  author 
of  a  work  on  the  antiquities  of  Syracuse.  I  have  forgotten 
his  name,  but  any  body  who  visits  Ortigia  can  not  fail  to 
recognize  him  in  the  elegant  person  of  a  young  man,  a  little 
blase  in  his  manners,  who  lounges  gracefully  about  the  Sole, 
and  does  things  up  as  valet  de  place  with  the  resigned  air  of 
a  gentleman  of  broken  fortune,  who  has  been  reduced  to  the 
necessity  of  bartering  his  classical  knowledge  and  personal 
services  for  the  contemptible  sum  of  one  dollar  per  diem.  He 
will  converse  with  you  on  art  and  history,  point  out  to  you 
all  the  antiquities  of  Syracuse,  sell  you  his  pictures,  attend  to 
your  passport,  carry  your  umbrella,  see  that  your  boots  are 
blapked,  and  go  of  messages — all  for  the  miserable  pittance 
of  a  dollar  a  day ;  and  if  you  like  he  will  go  with  you  to  the 
opera,  and  tell  you  the  history  of  the  prima  donna  and  of 
each  of  the  chorus-singers  individually.  For  my  part,  I  took 
it  as  rather  a  compliment  that  so  fashionable  a  looking  man 
should  be  seen  in  my  company,  and,  notwithstanding  the 
horror  and  disgust  of  my  young  English  friend,  always  invited 
him  to  join  us  in  a  cigar  or  a  glass  of  wine,  and  felt  quite 
happy  when  he  sate  with  us  in  a  public  cafe,  sipping  the 
nero  with  a  languid  air,  or  dallying  elegantly  over  a  glass  of 
ice-cream  at  my  expense. 

In  America  one  would  be  ashamed  to  exact  menial  services 
of  so  accomplished  a  gentleman ;  but  in  the  old  world  it  is 
so  common  as  not  to  attract  attention,  except  from  strangers. 
Indeed,  we  republicans  are  much  more  stiff  and  haughty  to- 


SYRACUSE.  67 

ward  our  subordinates  than  the  Germans  or  French,  and  quite 
as  much  so  as  the  English.  Sometimes  it  is  such  a  relief  to 
be  natural  and  kind  that  I  try  it  for  variety.  The  other  day, 
up  in  Austria,  I  was  caught  by  a  party  of  friends  in  the  act 
of  drinking  beer  with  our  hack-driver,  a  very  jolly,  respectable 
old  Dutchman ;  but,  from  the  disdainful  manner  in  which 
they  refused  to  join  us,  I  felt  exceedingly  mortified  about  it, 
and  resolved  never  to  be  good-natured  again.  The  very  same 
evening,  walking  in  one  of  the  public  gardens,  I  met  a  former 
guide,  with  whom  I  thoughtlessly  sat  down  to  have  a  cup  of 
coffee,  and  was  in  the  act  of  boing  perfectly  happy  when  my 
friends  discovered  me  again,  and  this  time  they  showed  such 
decided  symptoms  of  disapprobation  that  I  vowed  never  to  be 
sociable  any  more.  Shortness  of  funds  compelled  me  soon 
after  to  take  passage  in  the  third-class  cars,  where  I  was  ter- 
ribly afraid  some  one  would  see  me — some  American  or  En- 
glishman, I  mean,  because  I  knew  nobody  else  would  be 
distressed  about  it.  There  was  a  respectable-looking  man 
on  the  next  seat  who  spoke  English.  He  was  very  chatty 
and  agreeable,  and  it  was  quite  a  consolation  to  find  so  intel- 
ligent a  man  in  the  same  reduced  circumstances.  We  talked 
very  pleasantly  for  some  time,  when  he  informed  me  that  his 
master  was  in  the  first-class ;  that  the  said  master  was  a 
countryman  of  mine.  I  was  terribly  mortified,  of  course  ; 
there  was  that  lonely  and  high-minded  man  in  the  first-class, 
and  I,  with  the  most  ambitious  aspirations,  in  the  third-class 
with  his  courier.  However,  it  was  some  comfort  to  think 
that  I  had  passed  my  time  pleasantly  so  far,  and  had  received 
all  the  information  for  which  the  lonely  man  in  the  first-class 
was  paying  a  dollar  a  day,  besides  the  courier's  expenses. 

But  this  is  a  sad  habit  I  have  fallen  into  of  rambling  off 
from  the  main  subject.  I  believe  I  was  in  Syracuse. 

Now,  if  ever  a  man  tried  hard  to  get  up  some  enthusiasm 
about  a  place  that  he  had  read  of  with  wonder  and  admira- 
tion in  early  youth,  I  tried  it  in  Syracuse.  I  went  down  into 
the  ancient  baths,  and  suffered  damp  and  chilling  airs  with- 
out seeing  any  thing  but  subterranean  passages  and  uncom- 
fortable holes  ;  through  miles  of  ancient  catacombs  I  roamed 
without  one  sentiment  of  admiration  for  the  mighty  dead  who 


68 


A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 


were  no  longer  there ;  bones  I  picked  up.  but  they  looked  so 
like  common  bones  that  I  threw  them  down  again  :  it  was 
no  use ;  the  enthusiasm  wouldn't  come.  As  for  the  amphi- 
theatre at  Neapolis,  it  is  just  like  any  other  amphitheatre, 
only  less  perfect  than  those  of  Italy.  The  ancient  aqueduct 
is  in  so  dilapidated  a  state  that  scarcely  a  vestige  remains. 
The  Ear  of  Dionysius  is  one  of  the  few  things  worth  seeing. 
It  is  a  large  excavation  in  solid  rock,  where  it  is  said  Diony- 
sius the  Second  imprisoned  his  victims,  and  amused  himself 
listening  to  their  groans.  The  reverberation  in  this  cavern 
is -so  great,  owing  to  some  peculiarity  in  the  construction,  that 
the  tearing  of  a  piece  of  paper  produces  a  loud  report.  There 
are  other  excavations  in  the  vicinity,  of  great  size  and  extent, 
formerly  used  as  prisons,  but  now  occupied  by  rope-makers, 
which  is  much  better.  If  ^Dionysius  himself  had  turned  his 
attention  to  the  manufacture  of  ropes,  he  might  have  deserved 
hanging  less,  and  have  enjoyed  a  better  reputation  in  history. 
The  museum  in  Ortigia  contains  a  very  scanty  collection  of 
antiquities,  dug  out  of  the  ruins  of  Syracuse.  The  chief  at- 
traction is  the  broken  statue  of  Venus,  which  is  a  very  beau-, 
tiful  work  of  art,  and  justly  admired.  Very  little  remains  of 
ancient  Syracuse  except  the  excavations  from  which  the  stone 
was  taken  to  build  the  city.  Some  of  these  are  occupied  by 
a  miserable  population  of  outcasts,  who  seem  to'  have  no 


SYRACUSE.  69 

houses  or  means  of  living,  and  prey  upon  travelers  for  the 
wretched  pittance  by  which  they  support  life. 

The  whole  region  around  Syracuse  is  rocky  and  desolate, 
and  so  little  remains  of  its  ancient  grandeur  that  it  requires 
a  warm  imagination  to  invest  it  with  sufficient  interest  to  re- 
pay a  visit.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  a  city  that  once 
contained  a  population  of  two  millions  should  be  reduced  to 
such  utter  ruin  :  now  a  mere  hill-side  of  quarries  and  a  dirty 
little  *own  with  a  population  of  seventeen  or  eighteen  thou- 
sand. Where  the  land  was  to  support  such  a  population,  or 
the  port  for  such  a  commerce  as  they  would  have  required,  is 
a  mytery  that  can  not  be  solved  by  any  evidences  now  exist 
ing ;  and  the  probability  is  that  history  in  this  instance,  as 
in  many  others,  has  greatly  exaggerated  the  facts. 

Some  distance  from  the  gates  of  Ortigia,  on  an  eminence, 
is  an  old  convent,  and  near  it  the  cemetery  in  which  lie 
buried  the  remains  of  two  Americans — one  a  young  midship- 
man, killed  in  a  duel,  and  the  other  a  gunner.  We  visited 
their  graves,  and  took  copies  of  the  inscriptions  placed  upon 
Vheir  tombs  by  some  kind  shipmates.  It  was  sad,  in  a  for- 
eign land,  amid  the  vestiges  of  ruin  and  decay,  to  stand  by 
these  lonely  graves  and  think  how  died  these  two  of  kindred 
blood  and  language,  so  far  away  from  home.  The  young 
midshipman  was  cut  short  in  his  bright  career,  not  by  wasting 
disease,  but  by  the  hand  of  a  brother  officer.  A  brief  notice 
in  the  guide-book  was  all  that  told  the  story.  He  fell  in  a 
duel,  near  the  place  of  his  burial ;  and  he  sleeps  his  last 
sleep  in  a  far-off  land,  with  none  to  mourn  over  his  lonely 
grave,  none  to  feel  a  pang  of  pity,  save  the  passing  stranger. 
This  was  honor !  Does  the  slayer  of  that  youth,  if  he  still 
lives,  feel  that  he  has  done  an  honorable  deed  when  he  thinks 
of  the  lonely  grave  of  his  victim  ?  Is  there  a  charm  in  the 
thought  to  wash  out  the  stain  of  blood  ?  Has  the  admiration 
of  the  world  made  him  feel  in  his  secret  heart  that  he  is  the 
braver  for  having  risked  his  life  and  slain  his  fellow-man  ? 
Was  forgiveness  of  an  injury  so  base  an  act  that  it  would 
have  embittered  his  whole  future  ?  Oh,  honor,  honor  !  for 
what  dark  and  bloody  crimes  hast  thou  to  answer ! 


70  A  G1RA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

We  paid  a  visit  to  the  modern  catacombs  in  the  convent, 
out  found  them  much  inferior  to  those  in  Palermo,  of  which 
I  have  given  some  account.  While  strolling  through  among 
the  bodies,  accompanied  by  an  old  monk,  one  of  the  heads 
rolled  off  and  fell  on  the  ground.  The  monk  quietly  picked 
it  up,  thanked  God  for  the  accident,  and  placed  it  on  the 
neck  again,  but  in  such  an  extraordinary  position  as  to  pro- 
duce a  most  ludicrous  effect.  "Non  fa  niente!"  said  he, 
"  it  makes  no  difference  now,"  and  we  walked  on. 

In  the  evening  we  went  to  an  opera  in  Ortigia  ;  rather  an 
odd  thing,  you  will  admit,  among  the  ruins  of  Syracuse. 
The  piece  was  quite  new  to  me,  and  abounded  in  terrible 
love  scenes,  murders,  and  thunderings  of  brass  instruments. 
The  prima  donna  created  a  great  furore  by  her  violent  man- 
ner of  dying ;  she  died  three  times  in  succession  by  special 
request  of  the  audience,  and  so  great  was  the  enthusiasm  on 
the  subject  that  I  could  not  help  joining  in  an  attempt  to 
get  up  a  fourth  death,  in  the  faint  hope  that  she  might  re- 
main dead  till  the  conclusion  of  the  opera. 

Now  this,  to  be  sure,  is  rather  a  scanty  description  of 
Syracuse — a  mere  budget  of  anecdotes,  you  will  say.  But 
what  can  I  tell  you  without  copying  from  the  guide-book, 
which  you  will  find  in  any  public  library.  To  be  candid,  I 
think  there  is  more  in  the  name  of  Syracuse  than  any  thing 
else.  The  ruins  are  in  such  a  state  of  dilapidation  that  one 
can  scarcely  recognize  any  thing,  even  with  the  assistance 
of  a  guide.  Those  of  Agrigentum  are  considered  much  finer. 
After  Rome,  arid  the  ruins  of  Pestum,  near  Naples,  there  is 
little  worth  seeing  in  Sicily  in  the  way  of  ruins,  except  Sicily 
and  its  government,  which  may  be  considered  a  ruin  on  a 
large  scale ;  one  of  the  grandest  ruins,  if  we  are  to  believe 
its  early  history,  in  Southern  Europe.  War  and  rapine,  and 
all  the  evils  of  military  despotism ;  pestilence  and  famine, 
earthquakes  and  volcanic  eruptions,  have  scourged  that  ill- 
fated  island  till  its  mountains  are  bare  and  its  valleys  are 
waste  ;  and  the  spirit  of  desolation  broods  over  its  ruins  even 
as  the  scourge  of  the  Divine  hand  yet  rests  upon  Jerusalem 
and  the  hills  of  Judea. 


SYRACUSE.  71 

We  spent  a  day  and  a  half  in  Syracuse,  and  would  have 
continued  on  to  Noto  and  Girgenti  but  for  the  want  of  time. 
It  was  getting  late  in  the  season,  and  each  of  us  had  plans 
of  Oriental  travel  for  the  corning  month  of  November.  It 
must  be  said  in  favor  of  Sicily,  at  this  season  of  the  year, 
that  the  climate  is  perfectly  delicious ;  and  the  skies  unsur- 
passed in  any  part  of  the  world.  The  sunset  scenes  every 
evening  were  beautiful  beyond  description  ;  and  the  soft  tints 
of  the  distant  mountains  of  Calabria,  and  the  interior  of  Sicily, 
were  such  as  Claude  Lorraine  delighted  to  paint,  and  which 
no  other  artist  has  ever  given  in  such  perfection.  It  is  pleas- 
ant, after  all  the  annoyances  of  passports  and  beggars,  in  a 
country  like  this,  to  get  up  in  the  morning  at  day-light,  drink 
your  coffee,  pay  all  your  bills,  thank  Heaven  when  you  aro 
through ;  jump  into  the  open  diligence  ;  listen  to  the  lively 
crack  of  the  postillion's  whip  and  the  rattling  of  the  wheels 
as  you  are  whirled  off  out  of  the  narrow  streets ;  and  then, 
when  fairly  beyond  the  gates,  to  snuff  the  fresh  air  as  you  fly 
along  the  smooth  roads  by  the  sea-shore,  and  watch  the  first 
glimmer  of  the  sun  as  it  lightens  up  the  Eastern  horizon,  and 
trace  out  cities  of  gold  among  the  light  clouds  that  float  over 
the  mountains  of  Calabria  ;  to  draw  in  the  fresh  morning  air 
again  until  you  feel  as  if  it  would  lift  you  up  into  the  realms 
of  pure  spirits.  A  wild  joy  thrills  through  your  blood  at  such 
a  time — a  gladness  that  you  are  born,  and  in  the  world,  and 
capable  of  feeling  its  beauties  ;  and  you  inwardly  thank  God 
for  all  the  blessings  that  life  still  contains,  even  amid  the 
ruin  and  desolation  wrought  by  man's  evil  deeds.  What  if 
that  sun  has  risen  for  centuries  over  battle-fields,  and  scorched 
with  thirst  the  wounded  and  the  dying ;  mingled  its  rays 
with  the  flames  of  Etna,  and  shed  its  softest  evening  glo- 
ries over  scenes  of  terror  and  death  :  through  the  unfathom- 
able past,  in  the  alternate  phases  of  good  and  evil  throughout 
all  the  wicked  deeds  that  man  has  wrought  against  man, 
and  all  the  fierce  convulsions  of  nature,  it  has  shed  its  heal- 
ing glow  upon  the  human  heart ;  it  has  cheered  the  house- 
less and  the  homeless  with  its  warmth  ;  it  has  nourished 
and  ripened  the  fruits  of  the  earth  for  countless  generations ; 


72  A  GIRA  THEOUGH  SICILY. 

it  has  filled  millions  of  souls  with  adoration  of  the  Divine 
Creator  ;  and  in  its  h'ght,  and  warmth,  and  sublime  beauties, 
in  all  the  joy  and  gladness  that  it  sheds  upon  earth,  there  is 
still  enough  of  heaven  to  make  us  feel  that  we  are  mortal 
here  to  be  immortal  hereafter. 

Pardon  these  little  bursts  of  enthusiasm,  I  pray  you ;  the 
fact  is,  being  unable  to  get  up  any  inspiration  on  the  subject 
of  antiquities,  I  have  to  let  out  now  and  then  on  the  sun, 
and  moon,  and  stars  by  way  of  experiment ;  for  when  I  see 
my  fellow-travelers  go  into  raptures  over  an  old  stone  wall, 
or  a  musty  picture,  or  broken  column,  which  fails  to  produce 
the  slightest  effect  upon  me,  I  begin  to  imagine  that  there 
must  be  something  lacking  in  head  or  heart,  and  it  is  only 
by  soaring  among  the  mountains  and  clouds  that  I  can  con- 
jure up  a  particle  of  enthusiasm. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

TAORMINA. 

ON  our  arrival  in  Catania,  we  proceeded  at  once  to  de- 
mand satisfaction  of  the  proprietor  of  the  diligence  for  the 
misconduct  of  the  conductor  in  suffering  us  to  he  stopped  al 
Lentini  and  other  postes  on  the  road  to  Syracuse.  We  had 
drawn  up  a  bill  against  him  for  all  the  extra  charges  for 
horses,  postillions  and  hostlers,  over  and  above  what  were  spe- 
cified in  the  article  of  agreement.  That  article  of  agreement 
contained  every  item  that  we  felt  legally  bound  to  pay  ;  and 
we  had  carefully  preserved  it  as  a  warning  to  the  proprietor 
that  we  were  not  the  kind  of  people  to  be  imposed  upon. 

Our  first  measure,  therefore,  upon  arriving  at  the  door  of 
the  Corunna,  was  to  send  for  the  proprietor  of  the  diligence. 
We  had  taken  the  names  of  all  the  conspirators  who  had 
fleeced  us  on  the  road — such  names,  at  least,  as  they  gave  us  ; 
and  thus  prepared,  we  formed  ourselves  into  a  sort  of  tribunal 
on  the  pavement,  for  the  vindication  of  our  rights  and  the  in- 
fliction of  a  severe  reprimand  upon  all  who  dared  to  outrage 
the  majesty  of  the  law.  Doctor  Mendoza  was  appointed  prose- 
cuting attorney,  as  he  was  much  the  largest  man  in  the  party 
and  rather  the  most  fluent  in  Italian.  The  proprietor,  or  pa- 
drone, as  he  was  called,  when  he  approached  and  saw  us 
formed  into  a  high  Court  of  Inquiry,  turned  very  pale,  and 
bowed  a  great  many  times  before  our  honors.  All  the  idlers 
about  the  Corunna  began  to  gather  round,  and  every  body  being 
an  idler,  the  audience  was  soon  of  very  imposing  dimensions. 
Doctor  Mendoza  opened  the  case — rather  violently  as  I  thought 
— by  thrusting  the  contract  in  the  face  of  the  trembling  pa- 
drone, arid  calling  him  a  sporka,  a  robber,  a  miserable  pol- 
troon !  and  a  great  many  other  names  of  the  kind  ;  which 

D 


71  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

the  padrone  received  with  the  most  unbounded  resignation. 
Indeed,  had  he  been  used  to  such  charges  all  his  !ife  he  could 
not  have  manifested  a  more  forgiving  spirit.  His  only  an- 
swer was  to  demand  meekly  the  cause  of  all  this  violence. 
Had  he  pulled  Doctor  Mendoza  by  the  nose,  he  could  not  have 
offered  him  a  greater  insult  than  this  question.  For  two 
minutes  that  gentleman  was  perfectly  breathless  with  rage ; 
he  stormed,  he  stamped  upon  the  pavement ;  he  tore  his  hair ; 
he  spluttered  and  spat  all  about ;  and  then,  after  this  explo- 
sion, he  shrieked  in  English,  in  Portuguese,  in  French,  and  in 
Italian ;  during  which  time  the  padrone  took  several  pinches 
of  snuff,  and  awaited  the  conclusion.  At  the  conclusion  he 
demanded  again  the  cause  of  this  extreme  violence. 

"  Sacr-r-r-r !  Diablo.'"  screamed  the  Portuguese,  rushing 
at  him,  with  his  fingers  bent  as  if  to  claw  the  eyes  out  of 
him — "  Calaboca!  Per-r-r  BaccJw !  By  dam!  you  rob! 
you  dam  rascal  !  Perche  qucsta  ?  (shaking  the  paper  in  his 
face)  Due  baiocco .' — due,  tre,  quatro,  cinqua  carlin  !  Sem- 
pra !  Sempra !  Per-r-r  Deo !  baiocci,  carlini,  scudi ! 
Sacr-r-r.'" 

The  counsel  for  the  accused,  which  consisted  of  the  con- 
ductor, the  driver,  the  postillion,  and  several  of  the  ragged 
facckini,  belonging  to  the  hotel,  broke  in  and  protested  that  it 
was  the  custom  of  the  country,  that  any  other<|>adrone  would 
have  charged  double  the  price  ;  they  all  talked  at  once,  and 
their  appeals  in  behalf  of  the  padrone  were  so  eloquent  and 
moving  that  he  evidently  began  to  consider  himself  a  much 
injured  man,  and  this  sense  of  outraged  honesty  so  inspired 
him  with  courage,  that  he  began  to  protest  that  he  would 
have  justice  for  such  unmerited  accusations;  he  couldn't 
stand  it ;  he'd  go  to  the  police  office. 

The  upshot  of  the  whole  business  was,  that  we  had  to  pay 
the  full  amount  on  the  agreement,  and  suffer  an  additional 
loss  of  several  carlins  in  fees  to  the  counsel  of  the  accused, 
who  never  ceased  to  persecute  us  till  we  showed  symptoms 
of  a  disposition  to  pay  the  required  amount.  The  ground 
upon  which  they  based  their  claim  was  that  they  had  helped 
us  out  of  the  difficulty  !  Such  a  course  of  conduct  might 


TAORMINA.  75 

well  be  considered  as  adding  insult  to  inj  ury  ;  but  having  no 
alternative  we  paid  the  fees  in  order  to  get  rid  of  the  coun- 
sel, who  were  getting  stronger  every  moment ;  and  who  had 
already  enlisted  the  sympathies  of  every  straggler  in  the  street. 


COUNSEL  FOR   THE   ACCUSED. 


Leaving  Catania  as  soon  as  \vc  could  get  a  change  of  horses, 
we  passed  in  sight  of  the  Cyclopean  isles,  and  about  dark 
reached  a  town  distant  ten  miles.  Here  we  stopped  for  the 
night,  much  to  the  disgust  of  our  Portuguese  friend,  who  was 
rather  sore  in  mind  after  the  affair  at  Catania,  and  con- 
sequently could  not  tolerate  an  indifferent  hotel.  He  was  al*. 
ways  particular  about  hotels  ;  but  this  time  he  was  uncom- 
monly fastidious.  The  Posta,  where  we  stopped,  had  rooms 
good  enough  if  they  were  only  clean.  Doctor  Mendoza  was 
incensed  at  the  filth  of  this  establishment.  He  excited  him- 
self to  such  a  degree  on  the  subject  of  the  bed-linen,  that  he 
ended  by  tearing  his  hair  and  rushing  out  in  search  of  another 
hotel,  and  I  was  so  fearful  of  some  tragical  act  on  his  part, 
that  I  ran  after  him,  imploring  him  to  return.  There  were 
only  two  other  hotels  in  the  place,  which  he  explored  in  the 
most  violent  manner  ;  darting  furiously  into  the  bedrooms, 
lifting  up  the  bed-linen,  making  horrible  faces  of  contempt 


76  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

and  disgust,  calling  every  body  in  the  town,  sporka,  and  then 
darting  out  again.  In  the  end  he  was  forced  to  return  to  the 
Posta,  where  we  contrived  to  survive  the  tortures  of  the  ver- 
min, and  get  something  to  eat. 

The  next  day's  travel  along  the  sea-shore  was  the  most 
pleasant  we  had  enjoyed  in  Sicily.  Good-humor  was  restor- 
ed after  all  these  trials  of  temper,  and  we  laughed  heartily 
at  the  incidents  of  our  journey  to  Syracuse. 

"We  now  entered  a  fertile  region  along  the  hase  of  Mount 
Etna,  abounding  in  green  valleys  and  luxuriant  vineyards, 
and  dotted  over  with  pretty  little  towns  and  farms.  The 
road  on  either  side  was  lined  with  pleasant-looking  and  pic- 
turesque villas,  and  the  population  had  a  much  more  thrifty 
appearance  than  that  of  the  southern  portion  of  the  island.  At 
Ad  Reale,  a  handsomely  situated  town  about  half-way  be- 
tween Catania  and  Messina,  our  party  took  mules  to  go  up  to 
the  ruins  of  Taormina,  about  an  hour  distant  up  the  mountain. 
My  experience  in  mules  was  not  such  as  to  encourage  another 
trial ;  so  I  walked.  The  town  of  Taormina  is  one  of  the 
most  picturesque  old  places  in  Sicily.  For  variety  of  outline 
and  wild  scenic  effect,  I  have  seen  nothing  in  Italy  or  any 
part  of  Europe  to  surpass  the  ruins  of  the  Teatro  di  Taormina 
and  surrounding  mountains.  On  three  sides  are  towering 
peaks  of  rock  ;  Mount  Etna  is  clear  and  blue  in  the  distance  ; 
and  the  Straits  of  Messina  and  the  mountains  of  Calabria 
lie  outspread  in  front  with  all  the  rich  coloring  given  by  an 
autumnal  sun.  I  stopped  long  enough  to  explore  the  ruins 
and  make  some  sketches,  rather  to  the  annoyance  of  my  travel- 
ing friends,  who  generally  did  their  admiration  up  in  broken 
exclamations,  and  left  me  to  do  the  artistical  part,  while  they 
pushed  on  in  search  of  further  antiquities. 

Touching  the  history  of  Taormina,  it  belongs  chiefly  to 
classical  times.  Now,  to  tell  the  honest  truth,  I  have  no  pre- 
dilection for  the  classics.  In  my  younger  days  that  sort  of 
reading  was  forced  upon  me  as  physic  for  the  mind  ;  and 
having  no  taste  for  extravagant  scenes  of  bloodshed  and 
disgusting  exhibitions  of  sensuality  and  folly,  the  result  was 
that  I  took  to  Don  Quixote,  Gil  Bias,  Robinson  Crusoe,  and 


TAORMINA.  7? 

other  authentic  histories  in  which*  I  could  believe,  without 
doing  violence  to  common  sense.  Fortunately,  however,  I 
have  friends  who  are  of  a  different  way  of  thinking,  and  who 
consider  that  the  best  and  most  reliable  sources  of  knowl- 
edge are  to  be  found  in  classical  history.  I  am  indebted  to 
Mr.  Alexander  Clements,  United  States  Consul  at  Messina, 
who  is  a  most  esteemed  fellow-townsman,  for  a  sketch  of 
Taormina,  translated  from  the  Italian,  which  I  have  taken 
the  liberty  to  condense.  I  have  since  had  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  a  fine  view  of  the  ruins,  painted  by  Mr.  Clements ; 
and  I  am  glad  to  learn  that  he  contemplates  a  work  illustrat- 
ing the  beauties  of  Sicilian  scenery,  with  historical  sketches 
from  sources  not  usually  accessible  to  persons  unacquainted 
with  the  language. 

Taormina  was  once  a  very  rich  arid  notable  city  ;  and 
was  called  Taurominum,  because  it  was  built  upon  the 
summit  of  Mount  Taurus.  It  was  founded  by  Andromaches, 
father  of  the  historian  Timeos,  in  concert  with  the  inhabitants 
of  Naxos,  after  the  tyrant  Dionysius  had  destroyed  the  latter 
city.  Taormina  has  been  so  often  exposed  to  the  vicissi 
tudes  of  war,  and  especially  in  the  times  of  the  Saracens, 
who  in  the  year  893  razed  it  to  the  ground,  that  its  pop- 
ulation, once  most  numerous,  is  now  reduced  to  about  3000 
souls.  Earthquakes,  especially  that  of  1693,  have  likewise 
contributed  to  the  fall  of  the  city ;  and  it  is  probable  that 
this  state  of  ruin  and  depopulation  will  continue  in  conse- 
quence of  the  town  of  Giardini  being  since  founded  in  a  much 
more  advantageous  position  for  all  the  relations  of  commerce. 
It  is  easy  to  comprehend  why  fugitives  from  slavery  or  death 
should  found  a  city  upon  a  rock,  almost  inaccessible  ;  but  it 
seems  a  marvel  that  in  times  of  peace  the  inhabitants  have 
not  abandoned  their  aerial  retreat,  and  descended  to  a  more 
convenient  place.  The  suburbs  of  Taormina  contain  many 
interesting  antiquities,  and  the  ruins  of  its  theatre  are  in  a 
position  so  picturesque  that  they  are  incomparably  more  strik- 
ing than  any  m  Sicily.  Of  less  importance  among  the  anti- 
quities are  the  ruins  of  a  cistern,  of  a  gymnasium,  a  littlo 
temple  and  some  tombs.  The  most  notable  of  all  the  ruing, 


78 


A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 


however,  is  that  of  the  tfleatre.  It  is  regarded  by  the  best 
judges  as  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  architecture  for  scenic 
effect  iri  existence.  From  the  position  of  the  seats  the  specta- 
tors enjoyed  a  most  imposing  scene ;  such  in  fact  that  no 
description  or  painting  can  give  a  just  idea  of  it. 

It  is  a  remarkable  peculiarity  in  all  the  ancient  theatres  of 
Sicily  that  they  conform  entirely  in  their  construction  to  the 
local  circumstances  by  which  they  are  surrounded,  as  at 
Segesta,  Syracuse,  Taorrnina  and  other*  places.  This  was 
done  with  a  view  to  the  sound  of  the  voice,  as  well  as  to  the 
scenic  effect.  The  theatre  of  Taormina  it  is  said  was  capa- 
ble of  accommodating  twenty-five  thousand  persons.  It  was 
subjected  to  some  changes  after  its  primitive  construction, 
under  the  Greeks  whose  work  it  was,  as  also  under  the  Ro- 
mans who  repaired  and  embellished  it.  The  entire  edifice 
was  surrounded  by  galleries  of  brick,  and  niches  are  still  seen 


TAORMINA.  79 

in  which  statues  were  placed.  Many  columns  of  granite  and 
marble,  still  remain  upon  the  walls,  but  not  in  their  original 
places.  Some  of  the  finest  of  the  architectural  ornaments, 
have  been  carried  away  in  times  of  ignorance  by  the  inhab- 
itants, who  used  them  as  material  for  building. 

The  sketch  on  the  preceding  page  hastily  taken  on  the  spot, 
represents  the  amphitheatre  and  a  portion  of  the  main  edifice. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    BREACH. 

ON  our  arrival  in  Messina  we  lost  no  time  in  securing  the 
best  rooms  at  the  Vittoria  for  Doctor  Mendoza  and  lady  ;  and 
it  was  a  source  of  great  pleasure  to  behold  him  when  he  came 
down  to  the  dinner-table,  with  the  Madam  on  his  arm.  He 
was  shaved  and  oiled  to  the  extremest  point  of  nicety ;  his 
brows  were  unclouded  for  the  first  time  within  a  week ;  he 
smiled  pleasantly  over  his  soup,  and  discoursed  eloquently  of 
the  hotels  at  St.  Petersburg  over  his  salad  and  salmis.  The 
Madam  was  charmed ;  she  was  radiant  with  smiles ;  she 
never  stopped  looking  with  admiration  at  her  husband,  and 
evidently  thought  he  was  rather  the  handsomest  man  in  the 
world,  when  the  dust  of  travel  was  rubbed  off  his  face. 

Next  morning  we  set  out,  all  bright  and  smiling,  accompa- 
nied by  Mr.  Clements,  to  explore  the  city  of  Messina.  There 
is  not  much  in  it  to  attract  attention,  but  what  there  is  we 
ferreted  out  with  uncommon  ingenuity. 

The  foundation  of  Messina  (according  to  a*translation  from 
the  Italian)  extends  to  times  so  remote  that  the  precise  epoch 
ie  not  known.  It  once  boasted  many  precious  monuments, 
among  which  mention  is  made  of  a  splendid  temple  of  Nep- 
tune, and  another  of  Hercules.  There  was  also  the  Palace 
of  Cajo  Ejo,  from  which  was  taken  the  celebrated  statue  of 
Cupid  made  by  Praxiteles ;  but  the  many  sieges  sustained  by 
this  city  and  the  frequent  earthquakes  by  which  it  has  been 
desolated,  have  not  left  any  vestiges  of  its  ancient  edifices. 
The  population  of  Messina  was  once  very  numerous  ;  in  1575 
the  plague  destroyed  65,000  persons,  and  civil  wars  and 
othe*  <x'amities  have  since  reduced  it  to  a  mere  remnant. 


THE  BREACH.  01 

A.t  present  the  entire  population,  including  the  suburbs, 
amounts  to  about  90,000  souls.  The  greater  part  of  the 
town  is  new,  having  been  entirely  rebuilt  since  the  famous 
earthquake  of  1783. 

There  fs  so  little  to  be  seen  in  Messina  that  we  got  through 
on  the  day  after  our  arrival.  A  few  churches,  convents,  and 
old  walls  are  about  the  only  sights  in  the  way  of  antiquities 
that  the  traveler  is  called  upon  to  endure ;  and,  after  seeing - 
these,  he  may  pass  the  time  pleasantly  enough  rambling  about 
the  neighborhood,  which  is  full  of  fine  scenery,  or  lounging 
about  the  wharves,  where  he  will  enjoy  something  in  the  way 
of  maritime  life  on  shore.  The  position  of  the  town  is  scarcely 
less  picturesque  than  that  of  Palermo,  and  for  all  the  evidences 
of  progress  and  civilization  I  greatly  preferred  this  neighbor- 
hood to  any  part  of  Sicily. 

On  the  occasion  of  a  second  visit  to  Messina  I  was  accom- 
panied by  an  Irish  major  from  India  and  an  old  English 
gentleman  returning  from  the  East,  both  fellow-passengers  on 
the  steamer  from  Malta,  and  very  jovial  and  agreeable  trav- 
eling acquaintances.  "We  had  but  three  hours  on  shore,  the 
steamer  having  merely  touched  for  passengers.  It  was,  there- 
fore, on  landing,  a  matter  of  consideration  in  what  way  we 
could  spend  our  time  most  profitably.  The  Englishman 
was  in  favor  of  seeing  the  breach  at  the  risk  of  every  thing 
else  ;  the  major  of  that  happy  and  accommodating  tempera- 
ment which  renders  a  man  capable  of  enjoying  all  things 
equally  ;  and  I,  having  on  a  former  occasion  seen  every  thing 
in  Messina  except  the  breach,  yielded,  against  an  internal 
conviction  that  a  hole  in  a  wall  is  not  an  object  of  peculiar 
interest.  But  habitual  martyrdom  makes  a  man  magnani- 
mous, and  the  old  gentleman  was  bent  upon  seeing  the 
breach  ;  he  had  set  his  heart  upon  it ;  he  had  enlightened  us 
upon  the  historical  points,  and  the  breach  we  must  see.  Nor 
would  he  have  a  guide,  for  he  spoke  French,  and  could  ask 
the  way.  The  major,  too,  spoke  a  foreign  language  ;  it  was 
Gruzerat  or  Hindoo,  and  not  likely  to  be  very  useful  in  the 
streets  of  Messina,  but  it  might  come  in  play ;  and  I  prided 
myself  on  speaking  Italian  ;  that  is  to  say  (between  you  and 

D* 


82  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

myself),  a  species  of  Italian  formed  chiefly  of  Arabic,  French, 
Tuscan,  Neapolitan,  and  English,  but  chiefly  of  English 
Italianized  by  copious  additions  of  vowels  at  the  end  of  every 
word.  Yielding,  however,  to  the  superior  zeal  of  our  English 
friend,  Mr.  Pipkins,  we  kept  modestly  in  the  rear,*  while  he 
took  the  middle  of  the  main  street,  arid  kept  a  sharp  lookout 
for  any  intelligent-looking  man  that  had  the  appearance  of 
understanding  French.  "  Parlez  vous  Franfais,  monsieur," 
said  Pipkins  to  the  very  first  man  he  met.  "  Nein  /"  replied 
the  man, ' '  sprecken  Sie  Deutsch  ?"  "  Talk  to  him  in  Hindoo," 
said  Mr.  Pipkins.  The  major  addressed  him  accordingly  in 
Hindoo.  "  Nichj"  said  the  man.  "  Maybe  he  understands 
Italian,"  suggested  the  major.  "  Parle  Italiana?"  said  I, 
"  Si,  signor,  un  poco."  "  Dove  il  breecha  in  the  Muro,"  said 
I,  going  to  the  full  extent  of  my  Italian.  The  man  looked 
puzzled,  but,  not  wishing  to  appear  ignorant,  addressed  me  in 
such  a  complicated  mixture  of  German  and  Sicilian  that  I  had 
to  stop  him  at  length.  "  Si,  si,  grazia."  "  What  does  he 
say  ?"  inquired  Mr.  Pipkins.  "  I  think  he  says  the  wall  is 
somewhere  outside  the  city ;  but  he  speaks  abominable 
Italian."  "  Humph  !  never  mind  ;  here's  a  gentleman  that 
speaks  French,  I'm  certain.  Monsieur!  I  say,  monsieur!" 
(calling  to  a  stiff-looking  man  just  passing),  "  Parlez  vous 
Franfais,  monsieur?"  "  No,  signor ;  Italiana."  Upon  this 
hint  I  spake  Italian,  as  before.  The  stiff*  man  unbent  him- 
self, and  politely  conducted  us  round  the  corner,  where  he 
showed  us  the  ancient  CHUIICH  ;  and  bidding  us  adieu,  went 
his  way  with  the  same  grave  and  studied  aspect.  I  shall 
never  forget  the  look  of  mingled  doubt  and  disappointment 
with  which  my  venerable  English  friend  surveyed  me.  "  Did 
you  ask  him  for  a  church  ?"  "  No,  I  asked  him  for  the  wall 
with  the  breach  in  it."  From  that  moment,  I  believe  Mr. 
Pipkins  suspected  me  of  bad  Italian.  Disappointment,  how- 
ever, only  added  to  his  zeal.  Pushing  on  with  a  determined 
step,  he  led  the  way  through  innumerable  streets,  till  at 
length  we  reached  an  open  piazza,  where  we  halted  close  by 
a  hack  stand  to  gain  breath  and  take  an  observation.  Here 
we  were  soon  surrounded  by  such  an  eager  gang  of  vetturini, 


THE  BREACH.  83 

in  consequence  of  an  indiscreet  question  in  Hindoo  by  the 
major,  that  we  had  to  work  ourselves  out  of  the  crowd  by 
main  force.  "Leave  it  all  to  me,"  said  our  English  friend, 
"  I'll  find  somebody  presently  who  speaks  French.  Ha  !  that 
man  has  a  French  look.  I  say,  monsieur,  monsieur !"  The 
man  stopped.  "  Parlez  vous  Franfais,  monsieur?"  "  Oui, 
monsieur."  "  I  told  you  so,"  said  our  friend,  turning  to  us 
triumphantly ;  "  see  what  perseverance  will  do ;"  and  then 
he  propounded  a  series  of  questions  to  the  strange  gentleman 
concerning  the  location  of  the  wall,  interrupted  at  every 
pause  by  "  Oui,  monsieur,  oui,  oui."  "  Now,  sir,  can  you  tell 
us  where  it  is  ?  (still  in  French).  What  language  the  indi- 
vidual addressed  spoke  in  reply  it  would  be  impossible  to  say  ; 
but  it  was  brief  and  to  the  point,  for  he  immediately  con- 
ducted us  round  another  corner  and  showed  us  the  DILIGENCE 
OFFICE,  after  which  he  touched  his  hat  politely,  and  walked  on. 
Mr.  Pipkins  regarded  the  sign  upon  the  diligence  office  with 
ineffable  disgust,  and  then  casting  a  ferocious  look  after  the 
stranger,  struck  his  stick  heavily  upon  the  pavement,  and  said  : 
"  Pamme,  if  that's  French  !  He  doesn't  understand  the  lan- 
guage !"  For  some  time  previously  I  had  observed  a  sus- 
picious-looking fellow  dodging  from  corner  to  corner  in  our 
rear,  who  now  came  up  touching  his  hat  respectfully.  "  Gem- 
men,"  said  he,  "me  speakee  Inglees.  What  you  want?" 
Our  friend  explained  in  full,  evidently  much  relieved  at  this 
sudden  accession  to  his  cause.  "  Yes,  yes,  me  know,"  replied 
the  man.  "  Come  on."  We  followed  with  a  good  will,  cer- 
tain that  our  troubles  were  at  last  at  an  end ;  and  really  1 
began  to  feel  quite  interested  in  the  wall  from  the  sheer  force 
of  disappointment.  We  had  proceeded  some  distance  through 
a  labyrinth  of  qteeets,  when  Mr.  Pipkins,  who  was  engaged  in 
a  hopeless  attempt  to  extract  additional  information  out  of 
the  guide  concerning  the  wall,  stopped  short,  and  indignantly 
uttered  these  words  :  "  You  infernal  rascal,  that's  not  what 
we  want !"  Now,  the  full  force  of  this  violent  language  was 
of  course  lost  upon  the  major  and  myself.  The  only  words 
we  overheard  were — "just  seventeen" — "  arrived  from  Paris 
yesterday,"  which  of  course  left  us  in  a  most  painful  state  of 


84  A  GIRA  THROUGH  SICILY. 

mystery ;  nor  could  we  prevail  upon  Mr.  Pipkins  to  give  ua 
the  least  satisfaction  on  the  subject.  He  merely  turned  back, 
muttering  something  about  a  deplorable  state  of  morals ;  and 
upon  consulting  his  watch  found  that  it  was  about  time  to  go 
on  board  the  steamer. 


A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

ATHENS. 

WE  left  Messina  on  the  afternoon  of  the  15th  of  October, 
and  on  the  following  nforning  were  in  sight  of  the  Island  of 
Malta.  .  By  noon  we  were  at  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Valetta. 
It  was  really  refreshing  to  see  something  like  cleanliness  and 
civilization  once  more.  The  houses  of  Valetta,  with  their 
light  cheerful  coloring,  their  varieties  of  elevation,  their  pleas- 
ant verandas  and  balconies,  are  the  neatest  specimens  imag- 
inable of  toy- work  on  a  large  scale ;  and  the  streets  are  the 
very  queerest  streets  conceivable,  with  their  uprisings  and 
downfallings,  their  steps  of  stairs,  their  crowds  of  darkly  hood- 
ed women  and  noisy  men,  and  the  strange  mixture  of  races 
and  languages,  Europeanism,  Orientalism,  and  Barbarism, 
scents  and  sounds,  and  all  the  varieties  of  life  that  abou/id  in 
them.  But  British  ascendency  is  apparent  at  the  first  glance 
All  one  need  do,  after  casting  an  eye  upon  the  endless  rows 
of  cannon  peeping  from  the  fortifications,  is  to  look  at  the 
banded  and  gilded  officers  strutting  about  every  where,  the 
red-coated  guards  armed  to  the  teeth,  and  stationed  at  every 
gateway  and  public  building,  the  never-ending  drill  of  com- 
panies in  the  public  squares,  the  bristling  armories,  the  thea- 
tres, porter-houses,  billiard  saloons,  club-houses,  and  army- 
tailor  shops ;  and  above  all,  at"  the  places  of  worship,  where  the 
teachings  of  the  Gospel  are  expounded,  and  peace  and  good 
will  enjoined  toward  all  mankind — to  be  convinced  that  he 
is  once  more  among  a  progressive  and  enlightened  people. 

Doctor  Mendoza  and  the  Madam,  who  were  on  the  samo 
uteamer  from  Messina,  were  charmed  with  the  hotels  of 


86  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

Valetta.  I  saw  nothing  of  this  party  in  my  rambles  about 
the  streets ;  but  afterward  was  informed  by  the  Doctor  that 
they  were  fatigued  by  the  voyage,  and  had  spent  the  time  in 
their  hotel,  which  was  very  comfortable  ;  the  wines  were 
excellent;  the  Madam  was  "  indispose  ;"  the  mutton  uncom- 
monly fat  and  tender  ;  and  altogether  they  were  tres  contents 
to  repose  awhile  after  the  perils  and  hardships  of  the  voyage. 
I  took  passage  in  the  French  steamer  for  the  Piraeus.  Tho 
sea  was  rough  and  the  weather  very  unpleasant.  Compelled 
as  I  was,  in  all  my  traveling,  to  take  the  cheapest  places, 
ranging  from  deck-passages  up  to  the  second  cabin,  I  did  not 
discover  until  we  were  in  sight  of  Greece  that  my  friends  Dr. 
Mendoza  and  the  Madam  were  on  board  the  steamer  with 
me  again.  They  had  eventually,  upon  consultation  with  the 
Portuguese  Consul,  as  to  the  hotels,  concluded  to  pursue  their 
travels  to  the  East.  The  purse  of  the  Doctor  was  well  lined, 
and  of  course  he  spared  no  pains  in  making  himself  and  the 
Madarn  comfortable.  Unlike  most  people  with  full  purses, 
they  were  generous  to  a  fault ;  indeed,  I  was  often  forced  to 
interfere  between  the  Doctor  and  his  guides  in  order  to  pre 
vent  him  from  being  cheated.  If  there  was  any  one  thing 
that  troubled  this  amiable  couple,  it  was  the  dreadful  and 
unheard-of  hardships  which  they  supposed  I  must  encounter 
in  rnv  second  and  third-class  passages.  Repeatedly  melted 
by  the  pictures  of  starvation  and  desolation  which  they  con- 
jured up  in  my  behalf  (partly  because  I  carried  no  baggage, 
and  partly  no  doubt  on  account  of  my  being  naturally  of  a 
meagre  habit)  the  Doctor  offered  me  the  use  of  a  hundred 
pounds,  payable  at  any  convenient  point  in  the  world,  or  at 
any  date  however  remote  ;  and  I  never  could  make  him  un- 
derstand the  philosophy  of  traveling  on  the  principle  of  Rough 
and  Tumble  ;  studying  bodily  deprivations,  like  Socrates  and 
other  renowned  characters,  as  a  practical  science ;  enjoying 
the  luxuries  of  hardship  in  European  travel  by  comparison 
with  past  experience  in  flat-boats  on  the  Mississippi,  whalers 
off  Madagascar,  and  bashing  it  in  California ;  nor  could  he 
see  how  any  reasonable  man  could  take  pride  in  such  a  way 
*f  traveling,  even  when  that  pride  was  based  upon  necessity. 


ATHENS.  87 

After  a  drear}7  passage  of  two  days  and  a  half  from  Malta 
we  reached  the  Pirseus,  or  sea-port  town  of  Athens.  The 
first  thing  that  struck  me  upon  landing  was  the  absolute 
absurdity  of  being  surrounded  by  a  whole  legion  of  boatmen, 
porters,  and  hack-drivers  in  petticoats.  Their  very  earnest- 
ness in  gesticulating  for  fees .  and  baggage  and  a  thousand 
other  things,  partly  in  Greek  and  partly  broken  English, 
while  they  sauntered  about  in  all  the  pomp  of  mustaches, 
whips,  and  petticoats,  was  the  most  irresistibly  ludicrous  sight 
I  had  seen  for  many  a  day. 

"VVe  took  a  large  hack-man,  with  a  splendid  mustache,  and 
an  uncommonly  fine  pair  of  legs,  petticoated  in  the  most  im- 
posing style,  who  drove  us  through  seas  of  dust,  till  we  reach- 
ed the  half-way  house.  There  we  had  to  stop  for  sweetmeats, 
because  it  was  the  custom  for  all  people  of  quality  upon  their 
first  visit  to  Athens  to  stop  at  that  place  for  that  purpose. 
Why,  I  don't  know ;  unless  that  a  trifle  of  change  might  be 
divided  between  the  hack-driver  and  his  friend  who  keeps  the 
establishment. 

The  distance  from  the  Pirseus  is  about  seven  miles ;  but 
the  road  being  covered  with  a  thick  bed  of  dust  which  cov- 
ered up  the  hack,  we  saw  nothing  of  the  Acropolis  or  other 
ruins  till  we  were  within  a  mile  or  two  of  the  place. 

On  our  arrival  in  Athens,  my  Portuguese  friends  went  to 
the  "  Orient."  It  was  a  new  hotel,  and  was  recommended  in 
the  guide  book  as  the  best  in  the  city.  The  "  Angleterre"  was 
very  good ;  perhaps  a  little  larger  than  the  Orient,  but  it  was 
not  mentioned  so  favorably  in  Doctor  Mendoza's  book.  Prob- 
ably the  author  had  fallen  out  with  the  proprietor  on  account 
of  an  indifferent  beef-steak ;  for  I  rather  incline  to  the  opinion 
that  the  Angleterre  is  a  better  hotel  than  the  Orient.  How- 
ever, neither  of  them  suited  my  limited  means ;  and  I  was 
reluctantly  forced  to  leave  my  friends  at  the  Orient,  arid  go 
iu  search  of  the  worst  hotel  in  the  place.  Having  no  baggage 
except  what  I  carried  on  my  back  in  the  shape  of  a  knap- 
sack principally  filled  with  leaves  and  small  pieces  of  various 
ruins  for  my  friends  at  home,  I  was  not  troubled  about  por- 
ters. I  soon  found  a  very  indifferent-looking  hotel.  It  wai 


88  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST.      . 

the  Hotel  de  Vienne.  If  there  be  any  worse  in  Athens,  it 
must  be  very  bad  indeed.  The  price  for  a  small  room  was 
three  francs  a  day,  and  no  reduction  made  for  vermin.  I  had 
limited  myself  to  four,  all  expenses  of  living  included ;  and 
the  consequence  was  that  while  I  remained  in  Athens,  being 
obliged  to  pay  five  cents  out  of  the  franc  for  domestic  service 
my  means  of  support  were  reduced  to  fifteen  cents  a  day.  I 
breakfasted  generally  on  bread  and  grapes,  dined  on  grapes 
and  bread,  and  supped  on  bread  and  grapes  again.  It  agreed 
with  me  wonderfully.  Never  in  my  life  did  I  feel  stronger, 
or  more  capable  of  enduring  fatigue.  I  had  some  letters  of 
introduction  to  present  on  the  day  after  our  arrival ;  and  it 
was  not  until  the  following  morning  that  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  meeting  my  friend  Doctor  Mendoza.  He  shook  hands  with 
me  very  cordially,  and  said  he  liked  Athens  ;  he  thought  he 
would  stay  some  time ;  the  Orient  was  a  very  good  hotel ;  he 
was  very  comfortable  at  the  Orient ;  he  had  seen  the  Acropolis, 
the  temple  of  Theseus,  and  some  few  other  ruins,  but  the 
Orient  was  the  best  thing  he  had  found  in  Athens  ;  the  din- 
ners were  excellent ;  he  liked  the  way  the  dinners  were  cook- 
ed and  served  up;  the  Madam  was  "indispose;"  and  alto- 
gether he  thought  he  would  repose  for  a  week  or  two  at  the 
Orient,  as  it  was  "  imposs"  to  find  such  comfortable  quarters 
on  board  a  steamer. 

Having  studiously  avoided,  up  to  the  present  writing,  all 
flights  of  fancy  on  the  subject  of  the  classics,  I  shall  endeavor 
to  suppress  the  inspiration  derived  from  a  ramble  on  the 
Acropolis.  It  is  not  for  an  unpretending  General  in  the  Bob- 
tail Militia  to  attempt  a  description  of  the  glorious  old  Par- 
thenon, the  ruined  temples,  the  columns  and  cornices  that 
lie  broken  and  scattered  upon  that  classic  spot,  the  view  of 
naked  and  desolate  hills,  with  all  their  glowing  associations, 
wherever  the  eye  is  cast ;  or  to  indulge  in  poetic  reflections 
upon  the  fall  of  Greece  from  its  Attic  eminence  to  its  present 
state  of  barbarism.  A  few  practical  facts,  however,  from 
recollection,  may  be  of  interest  to  the  reader.  The  Acropolis 
is  a  rock  or  pile  of  rocks,  some  three  or  four  hundred  feet  in 
height,  crowned  with  the  ruins  of  the  principal  temples  of 


ATHENS.  89 

ancient  Athens,  which  are  encircled  by  a  wall.  It  is  situated 
at  the  edge  of  the  modern  town,  toward  the  interior ;  is  as- 
cended by  a  good  pathway  to  the  principal  entrance,  where 
a  guard  receives  tickets  of  admission,  or  pay,  or  something, 
and  takes  down  the  name  of  the  visitor,  in  order  that  he  (the 
visitor)  may  be  found  out  in  case  he  pockets  a  temple  or  a 
piece  of  one.  On  the  whole,  the  Acropolis  is  a  very  respect- 
able mass  of  ruins,  besides  being  conveniently  situated  for  a 
general  view  of  the  country.  There  are  shops  in  Athens 
where  French  lithographs  of  the  principal  ruins  throughout 
Greece  may  be  had  in  every  variety  of  size,  so  that  the  tour- 
ist, who  has  but  little  time  to  spare  in  Athens,  may  carry 
them  all  home  secretly,  and  describe  the  details  in  full  to  his 
friends,  as  if  he  had  carefully  studied  the  original  ruins.  By 
a  little  tact  and  a  glance  now  and  then  at  the  guide-book, 
aided  by  a  good  memory,  the  most  ignorant  person  is  enabled 
in  that  way  to  puzzle,  confound,  and  completely  triumph 
over  the  most  learned  professor  in  the  universities — provided 
the  professor  has  not  acquired  his  fame  in  the  same  manner. 
I  should  be  sorry  to  have  it  supposed  that  this  is  intended  as 
irreverence  toward  the  ancients,  or  contempt  for  the  learning 
of  the  moderns ;  but  if  it  be  taken  in  that  light,  I  can  only 
say  that  one  who  attempts  to  think  with  his  own  brains  and 
see  with  his  own  eyes  (both  of  which  may  be  defective)  is 
apt,  unintentionally,  to  run  against  the  prejudices  of  his  fel- 
low-creatures, and  should  rather  be  pitied  for  his  folly  than 
censured  for  his  presumption.  Besides,  the  classical  tourist 
and  learned  professor,  who  have  striven  so  hard  to  enlighten 
the  world  in  regard  to  ancient  times,  should  console  them- 
selves with  the  reflection  that — 

"  When  with  much  pains  'their  boasted  learning's  got, 
'Tis  an  affront  to  those  who  have  it  not." 

Modern  Athens  is  a  small  town,  composed  chiefly  of  frame 
houses.  The  population  is  about  seventeen  thousand,  prin- 
cipally degenerate  Greeks.  A  considerable  number  of  Ital- 
ians, French,  Germans,  Russians,  and  some  few  English 
families,  are  included  in  this  estimate.  The  streets  arc  ram- 
bling and  irregular,  narrow  and  wide  by  turns,  dusty  or 


90  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

muddy  according  to  the  season,  abounding  in  streams  of  filth 
from  the  house-doors,  and  over-run  with  miserable  dogs,  as  ill 
most  of  the  cities  of  the  East.  In  the  poorer  parts  of  the 
town,  the  houses  are  mere  hovels  of  mud ;  the  filth  is  such 
as  to  render  it  difficult  even  to  pass  through  ;  and  the  in- 
habitants are  in  the  most  wretched  condition.  The  bazaar 
or  market-place  is  perhaps  the  most  pleasant  place  of  resort 
for  the  stranger  who  wishes  to  study  the  manners  and  cos- 
tumes. Here  all  the  country  people  come  with  their  mules 
and  packs  of  produce,  and  here  are  gayly-dressed  idlers  loung- 
ing about,  in  all  the  glory  of  silks,  and  sashes,  and  swinging 
petticoats.  The  "  shaggy  capote,"  referred  to  by  Byron,  is 
seen  on  all  sides,  and  shaggy  enough  it  is,  being  made  of 
sheep-skins,  and  dirty  enough  too,  in  all  conscience ;  for  the 
country  Greeks  (town  Greeks  are  above  shaggy  capotes)  live 
in  their  sheep-skins  as  they  do  in  their  own  skins,  neither  of 
which  they  are  in  the  habit  of  washing  more  than  once  or 
twice  in  a  life-time.  In  all  their  rags,  however,  and  in  all 
their  filthiness,  these  degenerate  sons  of  glory  are  fine-looking 
fellows,  with  bold,  prominent  features,  eagle  eyes,  and  com- 
manding forms.  Some  of  the  handsomest  men  I  ever  saw 
were  Greeks,  dressed  in  the  Albanian  costume.  The  free, 
graceful  bearing,  the  manly  stride,  the  undaunted  air  of  self- 
reliance,  the  expression  of  energy  and  intelligence  in  every 
feature,  struck  me  as  something  admirable.  It  is  a  little  re- 
markable that  even  the  lowest  classes  of  the  men  are  hand- 
some, yet  not  one  in  a  thousand  of  the  women  even  comely 
in  form  or  feature — at  least  of  such  as  are  seen  in  ordinary 
places  of  public  resort. 

On  a  Sunday  afternoon,  during  my  stay  in  Athens,  I  went 
to  see  the  -king  and  queen — not  to  call  upon  them  personally 
at  their  palace,  because  I  had  heard  of  a  difficulty  that  had 
originated  in  a  matter  of  etiquette  between  a  party  of  Ameri- 
cans and  the  royal  party,  not  long  before,  and  I  was  resolved 
to  keep  clear  of  trouble  by  seeing  them  in  public.  There 
was  an  exhibition  of  rope-dancers  in  the  open  space  near  the 
Hotel  d'Angleterre.  At  an  early  Hour  the  place  was  crowded 
with  spectators — Greeks,  Italians,  French,  Germans,  English, 


ATHENS.  91 

and  Americans.  The  Greek  women  did  not  seem  to  me  at 
all  remarkable  for  beauty.  In  the  whole  crowd  of  several 
hundreds,  I  saw  but  three  or  four  passably  pretty  faces  :  and 
they  owed  more,  perhaps,  to  fine  suits  of  hair,  dark  eyes,  and 
rich  head-dresses,  than  to  any  thing  really  striking  in  their 
features.  The  ordinary  classes  of  Greek  women  to  be  seen 
about  the  streets  are  about  the  most  uncouth  and  miserable- 
looking  beings  one  meets  any  where  in  this  part  of  the  world. 
I  looked  in  vain  for  the  Maid  of  Athens.  She  lives  at  the 
Piraeus,  and  I  thought  it  likely  she  might  be  in  the  crowd. 
Perhaps  I  saw  her ;  if  so,  however,  I  did  not  recognize  her 
from  Byron's  description.  There  was  no  Greek  maiden  pres- 
ent on  that  occasion,  from  whom  any  man  of  ordinary  taste 
might  not  part  without  an  application  for  the  return  of  his 
heart.  The  young  German  girl  who  walked  on  the  rope 
from  the  ground  up  to  the  fourth-story  window  of  a  house, 
took  a  much  stronger  hold  upon  my  affections  than  any  of  the 
Maids  of  Athens.  She  was  a  beautiful  little  blonde,  radiant 
with  cheap  jewelry  and  gauze  :  she  waved  her  wand  majest- 
ically ;  smiled  triumphantly ;  twirled  her  pretty  legs  provok- 
ingly ;  and  bowed  to  the  unanimous  applause  of  the  specta- 
tors bewitchingly.  Then  there  were  splendid-looking  fellows 
in  flesh-colored  hose,  who  came  out  and  rode  in  a  most  ex- 
travagant manner  upon  the  tight-rope ;  turning  heels  over 
head,  and  head  over  heels  again ;  and  shaking  their  locks 
when  they  bowed,  in  a  way  that  must  have  won  a  great 
many  hearts  from  the  Greek  maidens  before  they  parted. 

But  my  business  is  not  with  rope-dancers.  Hang  the  rope- 
dancers  !  What  did  I  care  about  such  buffoonery !  I  could 
see  rope-dancers  enough  at  home ;  but  it  was  not  every  day 
I  could  see  a  live  king  and  queen. 

There  was  a  buzz  in  the  crowd  ;  a  suppressed  hum  of 
voices  ;  a  rattling  of  swords  and  guns  ;  a  clattering  of  horses' 
hoofs ;  I  knew  by  instinct  that  the  king  and  queen  were 
coming.  By  Jove !  there  they  came  sure  enough,  prancing 
along  gallantly  on  a  pair  of  spirited  steeds,  side-ways,  and 
front- ways,  and  every  possible  way,  right  up  between  the  two 
files  of  soldiers,  opposite  to  where  I  stood,  and  there  they 


92  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

halted,  as  if  to  enjoy  the  general  sensation.  I  was  perhaps 
the  most  enthusiastic  person  in  the  whole  crowd.  The  prob- 
ability is  that  I  would  have  shouted,  God  save  the  King ! — 
God  save  the  Qaieen !  had  I  not  been  apprehensive  that  the 
soldiers  might  mistake  my  meaning,  and  run  me  through  the 
body  for  an  attempt  to  create  a  revolution.  As  it  was,  I 
pressed  my  way  through  the  crowd  to  the  very  first  rank, 
and,  in  my  zeal  for  royalty,  displaced  two  officers  who  were 
standing  before  me,  and  who,  upon  seeing  that  I  was  a  for- 
eigner, looked  daggers  at  me,  in  Greek. 

King  Otho  was  dressed  in  the  Greek  costume.  The  cos- 
tume looked  well  enough,  but  the  king  looked  rather  insig- 
nificant for  a  king.  I  expected  to  see  a  man  seven  feet  high 
at  least,  with  a  head  as  big  as  a  five- gallon  keg,  crowned 
with  diamonds,  and  the  nose  and  eyes  like  those  of  an  eagle  ; 
but  King  Otho  is  rather  a  small  man,  with  a  small  head  and 
face,  and  rather  a  small  show  of  character  in  the  expression 
of  his  countenance.  He  is  a  pale,  ugly  little  man,  with  dark 
eyes,  dark  hair,  a  dark  mustache,  and  a  very  meagre  face. 
To  me  he  looked  uncommonly  unwholesome  in  mind  and 
body.  His  dress  was  rich,  but  not  more  striking  than  many 
of  the  Greek  costumes  in  the  crowd.  I  thought  he  wore  it 
to  show  his  subjects  that  he  was  Greek  to  the  back-bone — at 
least  to  the  outside  of  the  back-bone.  There  is  not  much 
Greek  inside  of  him,  according  to  all  I  could  glean  from  the 
people  of  Athens,  or  much  love  for  the  Greek  people  ;  and  for 
this  reason,  perhaps,  he  puts  on  as  much  Greek  outside  as  he 
conveniently  can. 

The  queen  was  dressed  in  a  plain  riding-habit,  with  a  plain 
black  riding-cap,  instead  of  a  golden  crown,  as  I  expected  to 
see.  She  is  a  buxom  young  woman,  of  about  thirty,  of  light 
complexion,  blue  eyes,  full  face,  rather  plain  in  features,  but 
lively  and  good-humored  looking.  In  Washington  City,  which 
I  have  the  honor  to  represent,  she  might  pass  for  the  daugh- 
ter of  a  neighboring  farmer,  more  accustomed  to  jumping 
fences  and  hunting  up  the  cows  than  to  the  atmosphere  of 
royalty.  However,  I  like  Glueen  Otho,  and  for  this  reason  1 
feel  disposed  to  compliment  her  by  the  comparison.  God 


ATHENS  93 

bless  Q,ueen  Otho !  She  was  born  for  better  things  ;  she 
might  have  been  the  life  and  soul  of  some  happy  family  cir- 
cle ;  she  looks  ready  for  a  laugh  or  a  romp  even  now,  with 
all  the  cares  of  royalty  upon  her  mind.  Besides,  how  could 
I  help  liking  her  when  she  smiled  at  me  ?  she,  dueen  Otho, 
of  Greece,  smiled  at  ME,  reader ;  not  that  I  hold  myself  at  all 
cheap,  but  it  is  no  every-day  matter  to  be  smiled  at  by  a 
queen.  I  saw  her  do  it ;  I  smiled  back  again ;  she  saw  ME 
smile ;  then  she  stopped  smiling,  and  I  stopped  smiling. 
When  1  stopped  smiling,  Q,ueen  Otho  smiled.  I  liked  that 
in  her ;  it  showed  delicacy  of  feeling  ;  it  showed  that  she  ap- 
preciated delicacy  of  feeling  on  my  part ;  it  was  intended  as 
a  reward  for  my  forbearance  in  not  continuing  to  smile  when 
she  stopped  smiling.  Consequently,  when  she  smiled  again, 
I  smiled  likewise,  to  show  her  that  I  understood  it ;  upon 
which  she  quickly  stopped  smiling  again,  and  turned  away 
her  face ;  and  I  also  stopped  at  the  same  time,  and  turned 
away  my  face;  I  turned  it  toward  the  king.  The  king 
frowned  at  me.  Otho,  King  of  Greece,  had  the  audacity  to 
frown  at  ME,  a  General  in  the  Bobtail  Militia !  My  repub- 
lican blood  was  up  in  a  moment.  I  frowned  at  Otho,  King 
of  Greece.  He  saw  me  frown  ;  he  saw  the  danger  that  might 
result  from  it ;  he  stopped  frowning ;  and  when  I  perceived 
that  I  had  frowned  him  down,  I  also  stopped  frowning.  King 
Otho  was  so  little  pleased  at  being  frowned  down  in  this  way 
that  as  soon  as  I  had  stopped  frowning,  he  frowned  again. 
Of  course  I  returned  the  frown  in  the  most  emphatic  manner. 
The  queen,  perceiving  that  King  Otho  and  myself  were  frown- 
ing at  each  other,  began  to  smile ;  in  fact  she  fully  smiled. 
I  understood  her  ;  I  returned  her  smile.  "We  both  smiled  to- 
gether. King  Otho  saw  that  we  understood  one  another; 
that  we  did  our  smiling  together  ;  that  consequences  unpleas- 
ant to  himself  might  ensue.  Therefore  he  frowned  more 
darkly  than  ever;  and  I,  knowing  that  jealousy  was  the 
cause,  was  determined  to  show  him  that  I  was  not  the  sort 
of  person  to  be  intimidated  by  a  frown.  Hence  I  frowned 
back  again.  King  Otho  quickly  stopped  frowning,  the  queen 
at  the  same  time  stopped  smiling ;  and  I,  having  no  further 


94  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

cause  either  to  smile  or  frown,  turned  away  and  looked  at  the 
rope-dancers. 

Up  to  this  date,  I  had  always  supposed  that  there  was  not 
in  my  nature  the  slightest  leaning  toward  royalty  ;  that  I  was 
republican  to  the  heart's  core.  But  I  now  began  to  doubt  it. 
I  felt  a  most  unmistakable  leaning  toward  royalty.  To  be 
noticed  in  this  manner  by  a  real  king  and  queen,  was  flatter- 
ing to  my  feelings.  Had  any  President  of  the  United  States 
frowned  at  me,  I  should  have  simply  asked  him  what  he 
meant ;  had  the  lady  of  any  President  of  the  United  States 
smiled  at  me,  I  should  have  thought  nothing  more  of  it  than 
that  she  had  mistaken  me  for'  some  acquaintance ;  but  to  be 
smiled  and  frowned  at  by  royal  blood,  was  something  calcu- 
lated to  produce  novel  and  agreeable  sensations.  There  were 
thoughts  within,  which  I  hardly  dared  to  own  even  to  my- 
self— thoughts  of  high  offices  which  might  be  had  by  proper 
influence,  if  we  had  a  king  and  queen  in  America.  It  was 
natural  to  suppose  that  it  must  be  gratifying  to  the  ambition 
of  any  MAN  to  be  made  Prime  Comptroller  of  the  Kitchen  ; 
Chief  Examiner  of  the  Bed-chambers,  Lord  High  Admiral  of 
the  Duck-ponds  ;  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Royal  Nurses,  01 
General  Superintendent  of  the  Cake  Department,  and  Feeder- 
in-chief  of  Sugar-candy  to  the  Royal  Babies  ;  with  a  salary  oi 
forty  or  fifty  thousand  dollars  a  year,  and  the  privilege  of  occa- 
sionally beholding  in  private  life  the  royal  couple.  In  thi? 
train  of  thought  I  called  to  mind  a  great  many  of  my  lady- 
friends  (some  traveling  on  the  Continent,  and  some  at  home), 
whose  chief  ambition  I  strongly  suspect  is,  to  be  associated  in 
some  way  with  royalty.  There  might  be  some  little  difficulty 
at  first  in  regard  to  providing  titles  sufficiently  long  and  high- 
sounding,  but  I  am  certain  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  pick- 
ing out  of  the  first  ranks  in  Boston,  New  York,  and  elsewhere, 
Ladies  of  the  Royal  Bed-chamber,  Train-bearers  to  her  Ma- 
jesty, Holders  of  her  Majesty's  Combs  and  Brushes  ;  High 
Powderers-in-chief  of  her  Majesty's  Face  and  Elbows  ;  and 
Lady  High-washers  of  her  Majesty's  Babies — especially  when 
there  would  be  brilliant  prospects  of  matrimonial  alliances 
with  the  Grand  Comptroller  of  the  Kitchen,  Lord  High  Ad- 


ATHENS.  95 

mirals  of  the  Duck-ponds,  Knights  of  the  Bed-chamber,  and 
other  distinguished  men  of  rank. 

Men  did  I  say  ?  MEN  ?  Pardon  the  slander  !  It  was  un- 
intentional. I  mean  no  disrespect  to  my  fellow-creatures 
of  the  male^sex;  the  word  is  used  in  a  conventional  sense. 
There  is,  however,  in  certain  countries  where  royalty  exists, 
a  class  of  creatures  who  consider  it  no  degradation  to  occupy 
positions  of  this  kind  ;  and  there  is  in  our  own  country  a  class 
eo  slavish  in  their  devotion  to  rank  and  station,  that  they  are 
ever  ready  to  worship  such  creatures — to  bend  the  knee  before 
the  titled  minions  of  royalty.  It  may  be  said  that  these  titles 
are  nominal.  Does  that  make  them  the  less  degrading  ?  He 
who  would  suffer  himself  to  be  called  the  Prince  of  Flunkeys, 
or  the  High-chief  of  Sneaks,  and  deliberately  accept  the  title 
as  merely  nominal,  is  a  flunkey  or  a  sneak  at  heart,  whether 
he  be  paid  in  money  for  the  indignity,  or  rewarded  with  im- 
aginary honors  ;  and  he  who  would  accept  the  title  of  a  base- 
born  menial,  not  from  necessity  but  from  choice,  is  more  de- 
spicable than  the  basest  of  menials ;  he  is  one,  who,  in  the 
language  of  Junius,  could  never  aspire  to  hatred,  never  rise 
above  contempt :  to  claim  for  such  a  creature  any  attribute 
of  manliness,  is  to  desecrate  God's  own  image  in  which  man 
is  made. 

But  really,  I  had  almost  forgotten  in  the  struggle  between 
my  growing  passion  for  royalty  and  the  prejudices  of  educa- 
tion in  favor  of  democracy,  the  high  hopes  of  preferment  sug- 
gested by  the  attentions  of  King  Otho  and  his  amiable  spouse. 
The  fact  is,  my  zeal  on  both  sides  has  been  productive  of  some 
slight  discrepancy.  I  can  only  account  for  it  in  this  way : 
that  we  tourists  who  visit  the  old  world,  have  our  share  of 
that  natural  weakness  which  causes  the  mass  of  mankind  to 
sacrifice  principle  where  vanity  and  self-importance  are  con- 
cerned. "We  like  to  astonish  our  untraveled  brethren  at  home 
by  boasting  of  our  intimacy  with  people  of  rank  in  Europe  ; 
we  scorn  titles  as  a  matter  of  principle,  and  worship  them 
as  a  matter  of  personal  ambition.  We  fashionable  people 
who  travel,  as  well  as  some  of  us  who  don't  travel,  are  just 
as  prone  to  aspire  tc  what  we  condemn  in  others,  as  the 


96  A  CllUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

weakest ;  just  as  rabid  in  the  improper  use  of  power  when 
we  obtain  it,  as  the  most  despotic.  The  frailties  of  human 
nature  abound  under  every  form  of  government ;  the  princi- 
ples of  right  exist  every  where,  and  are  every  where  sustained 
or  abused,  according  to  the  interests  which  they  involve  ; 
hence  we  should  be  careful  that  the  mote  be  ndl  in  our  own 
eye,  before  we  point  to  it  in  the  eyes  of  others.  There  are 
principles  of  liberty  and  of  right  implanted  in  us  by  the  Deity ; 
the  most  enlightened  of  mankind  have  ever  recognized  them 
as  the  only  true  basis  of  government,  the  only  enduring  found- 
ation of  human  happiness ;  let  us,  therefore,  while  we  con- 
demn the  errors  and  follies  of  others,  profit  by  the  condition 
to  which  we  see  them  reduced,  and  aspire  to  be  the  most 
consistent  as  well  as  the  freest  and  most  liberal  of  nations. 

Doctor  Mendoza  and  the  Madam  having  seen  all  that  was 
to  be  seen  in  Athens,  invited  me  to  join  them  in  an  excursion 
down  to  Eleusis,  which  I  very  gladly  did,  inasmuch  as  it  en- 
abled me  to  enjoy  their  society,  and  at  the  same  time  see  some- 
thing of  country  life  in  Greece.  We  hired  the  only  guide  that 
happened  to  be  unemployed  at  the  time — a  lean  ill-looking 
fellow,  whose  expression  of  countenance  gave  us  but  little 
promise  of  being  enlightened  by  his  intellectual  researches. 
There  was  no  help  for  it,  however ;  and  having  employed 
the  best  carriage  the  place  afforded,  and  moreover  provided 
ourselves  with  some  cold  chicken  and  bread  from  the  Orient, 
we  set  out  at  an  early  hour,  and  were  soon  rolling  along 
over  the  dusty  road  toward  Eleusis.  A  short  distance  from 
Athens  we  came  to  the  Academical  Groves,  where  we  de- 
scended to  see  the  sights.  The  only  sights  we  saw  were  an 
old  villa,  in  a  very  dilapidated  state  ;  a  few  dust-covered  trees 
and  grape-vines  of  modern  growth*,  some  fine  bunches  of 
grapes  ;  a  ditch  of  water  that  one  could  jump  over  with  ease, 
called  the  river  Ilissus,  and  some  ragged  and  dirty  Greeks 
•  lying  on  their  backs  in  the  shade — descendants  probably  of 
the  ancient  philosophers. 

Some  miles  farther  on,  we  came  to  a  sort  of  way-side 
inn,  near  the  Convent  of  Daphne,  where  the  Doctor  thought 
it  expedient  to  stop  for  refreshments  ;  "  because,"  said  he, 


ATHENS.  97 

de  Madam  is  indispose :  'tis  imposs  to  proceed  without  some 


wine 


While  my  friends  were  sipping  their  wine  and  "  reposing" 
after  the  fatigues  of  the  "voyage,"  I  stepped  into  the  adjoin- 
ing yard  and  made  a  sketch  of  the  old  Convent,  which  may 


CONVENT   NEAR   ATHENS. 


be  seen  here  on  a  small  scale,  just  as  it  appeared  to  me  on  a 
large  scale,  except  that  it  looks  rather  better  in  print,  and 
leaves  more  room  for  exercise  of  the  imagination.  It  is  built 
upon  the  ruins  of  the  temple  of  Apollo,  which  may  account 
for  the  fact  that  it  is  really  a  very  beautiful  piece  of  Byzan- 
tine architecture.  The  priests  were  all  asleep  or  dead.  I 
neither  saw  nor  heard  any  thing  of  them. 

Not  far  beyond  the  old  Convent  we  came  to  a  pass  with 
a  rugged  bluff  on  the  right,  upon  which  were  some  ancient  in- 
scriptions. Our  dragoman  stopped  the  carriage,  and  in  a  very 
imposing  manner  called  our  attention  to  the  fact  that  we 
were  now  at  a  most  interesting  point  in  our  journey.  Doctor 
Mendoza  never  suffered  any  thing  mentioned  in  the  guide- 
book to  escape  his  attention  ;  but  unfortunately  he  had  for- 
gotten his  book  in  Athens,  and  was  reduced  to  the  necessity 
of  depending  solely  upon  the  classical  attainments  of  our 
dragoman. 

"  Wat  you  call  dis  place  ?"  said  he ;  for  the  dragoman  spoke 
E 


98  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

nothing  but  English,  in  addition  to  his  native  language,  and 
Doctor  Mendoza  was  not  very  proficient  in  either  tongue  ; 
"  Wat  hiss  de  name  of  dis  place?" 

"  Um  call  um-er-r-a — e-r-r-a  ;  wat  you  say,  sare?" 

"Wat  hiss  de  name?" 

"  Oh,  de  name  ;  me  know  de  name  ;  me  tell  you  by'm  by. 
Dis  great  place,  shentlemans ;  much  great  ting  happen  here 
in  ancient  time ;  grand  ting  happen  here.  Dey  stop  here  ; 
much  grand  feast ;  plenty  people  ;  Oh,  great  ting  happen 
here." 

"But  wat  hiss  it?  Wat  gran  ting — wat  gran  feast  you 
call  her?" 

"  She  call  'um  feast,  wat  de  plenty  people  have  wen  dey 
come  dis  way  ;  Oh,  much  fine  time  !  Dere's  de  mark,  shen- 
tlemans ;  on  de  rock  dere  you  see  de  mark." 

Doctor  Mendoza  looked  at  the  rock,  but  could  make  no- 
thing of  the  mark.  Evidently  it  was  all  Greek  to  him,  for 
it  perplexed  and  irritated  him  exceedingly. 

"  By  dam  !  you  no  conosce  nienta  !  Mal-a-detta  !  wat  you 
call  herself  ?  heh  ?  you  call  herself  dragoman  ?  One  multo 
buono  dragoman  she  be!  Sacr-r-r-r  diabolo!" 

"  Yes,  shentlemans ;  me  dragoman ;  me  plenty  recommend- 
ation; me  know  more  all  dragomans  in  Atens!  All  Amer- 
ican shentlemans  say  me  good  dragoman  ;  all  English  shen- 
tlemans say  me  good  dragoman;  every  body  say  me  good 
dragoman." 

"  Den  wat  for  you  no  conosce  de  name  of  dis  place  ?" 

"  De  name?  Oh  de  name  sare?  yes  sare:  me  know  de 
name  well  as  any  body.  De  name's  er-r-ra — er-r-ra ;  you 
know  dis  de  place,  shentlemans,  were  de  plenty  peoples  come 
for  de  gran  ting;  much  grand  feast.  Dat's  de  name;  same 
name  wot  you  find  in  de  book,  yes  sare.  Me  best  dragoman 
in  Atens  ;  all  de  shentlemans  say  me  de  best.  Me  know  de 
name  all  de  place." 

"  Andate  !"  roared  the  Portuguese,  turning  furiously  to  the 
driver;  "Tis  imposs  to  understan  dat,  she  no  speak  Inglees!" 
and  away  we  rolled  over  the  road,  as  fast  as  two  skeletons  of 
horses  could  drag  us.  Presently  the  carriage  stopped  again. 


ATHENS.  99 

and  the  dragoman  informed  us  that  we  had  arrived  at  another 
important  point. 

"Dere,  shentlemans,  you  see  de  water;  much  sheep  come 
dere  in  old  time  ;  two  tousan  sheep  ?" 

"Wat?"  cried  the  Portuguese,  "dat  de  bay  of  Salamis  ? 
Dat  de  place  were  Xerxes  come  wid  two  million  sheep." 

"Yes  sare  ;  dat  de  same  place,  sare  ;  de  sheep  all  fight  de 
Greek  mans  dere ;  de  Greek  mans  kill  all  the  sheep  and  sink 
'em  in  de  water.  Greek  very  brave  mans ;  kill  two  hundred 
sheep  dere.  Yes  sare." 

"  Wat  dey  do  wid  all  de  dead  mans?" 

"  Oh,  dey  bury  all  the  dead  mans  down  dere  were  you  see 
de  tombs.  Yes  sare.  De  Greek  mans  dere,  and  de  oder  mans 
wot  come  in  the  sheep  be  dere  in  that  oder  place  wot  you 
see.  Yes  sare.  Oh,  me  know  all  de  ting — me  no  tell  lie ; 
me  good  dragoman." 

"Poh!  'Tis  imposs  to  comprehen  'Twill  be  necess  to 
to  have  de  book,"  said  the  Doctor  in  great  disgust ;  "de  sheep 
be  buried  in  de  tombs,  and  de  Greek  mans  be  buried  in  de 
sheep — imposs !  imposs !  Andate,  diabolo  !" 

So  the  carriage  rolled  on  again,  not  exactly  in  the  direction 
indicated  by  the  Doctor,  but  certainly  to  a  place  that  appeared 
to  have  no  great  local  advantages  over  the  residence  of  the 
dark  gentleman  referred  to.  It  was  the  far-famed  city  of 
Eleusis — a  most  abominable  collection  of  pigsties,  inhabited  by 
filthy  Greeks.  From  the  time  of  our  departure  from  Athens, 
I  had  seen  no  inhabitants  on  the  roadside  at  all  superior  in 
point  of  civilization,  either  in  their  way  of  living  or  general 
appearance,  to  the  Indians  of  California— certainly  none  that 
were  not  in  an  absolute  state  of  barbarism. 

We  ascended  the  hill  of  Eleusis,  and  stood  upon  the  Acropolis. 
The  utter  desolation  of  the  scene  all  around  presented  a 
striking  and  melancholy  picture  of  the  fall  of  Greece.  No- 
thing could  exceed  the  weird  and  impressive  grandeur  of  the 
scenery.  All  was  ruin,  barrenness  and  decay,  wherever  we 
looked ;  not  a  spot  of  verdure  within  the  vast  amphitheatre 
of  mountains ;  the  whole  face  of  the  country  arid  and  blasted ; 
all  still,  dreary,  and  deathlike — all  wrapt  in  hopeless  desolation. 


100  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

Our  return  to  Athens  was  devoid  of  incident.  Doc'-' 
Mendoza  and  the  Madam  were  delighted  to  get  back  to  t>  i 
Orient.  The  Madam  was  "indispose;"  and  the  doctor  de- 
clared that  without  dinner  it  was  "  imposs  to  exiss." 

1  spent  the  evening  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  Hill  the  Ameri- 
can Missionary.  No  American  who  has  visited  Athens  and 
enjoyed  the  acquaintance  of  this  gentleman,  can  feel  other 
than  the  highest  sentiments  of  esteem  and  admiration  for  his 
character  and  talents,  and  a  national  pride  in  his  successful 
dissemination  of  knowledge  and  of  the  true  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity among  the  rising  generation  of  Greeks.  His  school  is 
well  attended  bjr  the  most  intelligent  classes  of  Greek  chil- 
dren ;  who  by  the  admirable  manner  in  which  it  is  conducted 
soon  become  capable  of  teaching  what  they  have  learned 
themselves ;  and  in  this  way  the  cause  of  education  and 
Christianity  is  making  rapid  progress.  Some  of  my  most 
agreeable  recollections  of  Athens  are  associated  with  the  few 
brief  hours  spent  in  the  society  of  Mr.  Hill  and  his  accom- 
plished family. 

Bidding  good-by  to  my  Portuguese  friends,  who  had  made 
up  their  minds  to  "  repose"  a  while  at  the  Orient  after  tho 
fatigues  of  the  "  voyage"  to  Eleusis,  I  looked  for  the  last  time 
at  the  glorious  Acropolis,  shook  from  my  feet  the  dust  of 
Greece,  which  is  living  Greece  no  more,  and  departed  on  my 
journey  eastward. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

SYRA. 

I  TOOK  passage  in  the  Austrian  steamer  from  the  Piraeus  to 
Syra.  The  decks  were  crowded  with  Greek,  Italian,  and 
French  merchants,  and  a  fair  show  of  English  tourists,  on  their 
way  to  the  various  ports  of  the  Levant.  I  was  a  good  deal 
surprised  upon  getting  into  conversation  with  a  Greek  to  hear 
him  quote  the  "Isles  of  Greece"  from  beginning  to  end ;  and 
still  more  surprised  to  find  that  he  was  the  redoubtable  Pro- 
fessor Castanis  of  rhetorical  memory,  whom  I  had  heard  lec- 
ture fifteen  years  before  in  Louisville,  Kentucky.  He  carried 
a  book  in  his  hand,  written  by  himself,  containing  his  portrait 
in  full  Greek  costume ;  so  being  both  in  the  scribbling  line, 
and  somewhat  known  to  each  other,  and  moreover  in  the  same 
reduced  circumstances,  we  were  very  good  friends  and  went 
to  a  very  bad  hotel  in  Syra,  kept  by  a  Greek,  where  we  got 
exceedingly  small  and  rather  cheap  accommodations.  I  did 
not  remain  long  there,  however  ;  for  having  a  letter  of  intro 
duction  from  Mr.  Hill  to  Evangelides,  the  American  Vice 
Consul,  he  provided  me  with  much  better  quarters  in  his  own 
house,  contrary  to  every  assurance  on  my  part  that  I  was 
very  comfortable  at  the  Greek  hotel.  Evangelides  is  not  only 
the  most  hospitable,  enthusiastic,  and  obliging  consul  imagin- 
able, but  the  very  perfection  of  a  Greek  gentleman  ;  dashing, 
ofF-hand,  and  intelligent,  with  a  touch  of  wild  romance  in  his 
character  that  renders  it  a  real  pleasure  to  become  acquainted 
with  him.  He  speaks  English  uncommonly  well,  and  is  thor- 
oughly versed  in  all  the  Oriental  languages.  The  history  of 
Evangelides  is  a  romance.  His  father  was  a  Klepht,  or  mount- 
ain robber,  of  which  he  is  rather  proud ;  for  it  is  considered 


102  A  CRUSADE  IN.  THE  EAST. 

no  disgrace  to  be  a  robber  in  Greece ;  indeed,  it  is  looked 
upon  as  a  token  of  a  daring  and  chivalrous  spirit.  -  The  old 
gentleman  carried  on.  his  operations  by  land  and  sea,  much 
after  the  fashion  of  Conrad.  Falling  in  love  with  the  daugh- 
•ter  of  a  rich  Greek  merchant  in  one  of  the  neighboring  islands, 
he  contrived  to  get  her  on  board  one  of  his  feluccas,  and  carry 
her  off  to  his  own  island,  and  secrete  her  in  his  rendezvous  in 
the  mountains.  Of  course  she  was  moved  by  this  extreme 
devotion  and  became  his  Medora ;  but  unlike  Medora  she 
bore  him  a  son,  and  that  son  was  Evangelides.  During  the 
massacre  of  the  Greeks  by  the  Turks  in  1822,  they  were  both 
slain  ;  and  Evangelides  was  left  an  orphan.  He  was  taken 
to  the  United  States  in  some  American  ship,  where  his  his- 
tory excited  much  interest,  and  he  was  educated  at  one  of 
the  first  colleges  of  Massachusetts.  After  fifteen  years  of 
collegiate  life,  he  returned  to  Syra,  where  he  established  a 
school  for  the  education  of  Greek  children ;  and  soon  after, 
finding  his  business  prosperous,  he  got  married  to  a  lady  of 
Syra.  He  now  has  a  flourishing  institution,  filled  with  pupils 
from  nearly  every  port  in  the  Levant,  is  well  off,  and  holds 
the  position  of  Vice  Consul  of  the  United  States. 

Hermopolis,  the  sea-port  town  of  Syra,  is  the  principal 
commercial  depot  of  Greece.  Within  the  past  ten  years  it  has 
acquired  considerable  importance  as  a  stopping-place  for  the 
various  lines  of  steamers  bound  to  and  from  the  Levant ;  and 
its  trade  and  population  have  enjoyed  a  proportionate  increase 
The  harbor  is  safe  and  convenient ;  the  situation  of  the  island 
central,  and  the  inhabitants  generally  enterprising  and  intel- 
ligent, for  this  part  of  the  world.  One  of  the  first  things  that 
strikes  the  attention  of  the  traveler  is  the  romantic  position 
of  the  town,  especially  the  Catholic  portion  of  it  back  on  the 
hill,  which  rises  in  the  form  of  an  immense  pyramid.  All 
around  the  environs,  are  seen  innumerable  windmills ;  the 
houses  along  the  wharves  are  remarkable  for  their  fanciful 
shapes  and  gay  coloring.  The  population  of  the  entire  island 
is  about  twenty-five  thousand. 

To  the  classical  tourist  the  fountain  of  the  Nymphs,  back  of 
the  town,  is  the  most  interesting  relic  of  antiquity.  I  walked 


SYRA.  108 

out  there  on  the  afternoon  of  my  arrival,  in  company  with  two 
English  gentlemen.  Nothing  remains  of  the  fountain,  except 
the  water,  which  it  is  but  reasonable  to  suppose  is  of  modern 
formation.  The  location  perhaps  is  the  same  as  it  was  ic 
the  time  of  the  NymphsB,  who,  according  to  the  Greek  his- 
torians, were  in  the  habit  of  bathing  there.  It  is  more  than 
the  Greeks  themselves,  who  live  in  the  vicinity,  are  in  the 
habit  of  doing  at  the  present  date — if  one  may  judge  by  their 
appearance.  While  we  were  looking  for  some  more  portable 
relic  of  antiquity  than  the  water,  and  enjoying  the  pleasure 
of  being  stared  at  by  some  scores  of  ragged  women  and  chil- 
dren, who  were  waiting  for  their  pitchers  to  get  filled,  a  very 
little  old  man,  with  a  thin  and  withered  face,  and  a  very 
sharp  pair  of  eyes,  came  out  through  a  doorway  in  the  wall 
near  the  fountain ;  and  making  a  profound  bow  to  us  all,  said 
in  English,  or  something  intended  for  English,  that  he  was 
the  proprietor  of  that  establishment ;  it  was  his  own  property, 
and  he  hoped  we  would  make  ourselves  at  home,  and  look 
at  it  as  long  as  we  pleased.  He  was  always  happy  to  meet 
the  countrymen  of  Melor  Beeron,  because  Melor  Beeron  and 
himself  were  intimate  friends.  They  had  traveled  together 
through  Greece ;  had  fought  together  in  the  wars  against  the 
Turks ;  had  sailed  together  among  the  Greek  islands ;  had 
lived  and  loved  together  in  Athens  ;  in  short  for  many  years 
they  were  inseparable.  He  was  Melor  Beeron's  friend.  Me- 
lor Beeron  was  his  friend.  He  was  Melor  Beeron's  drago- 
man, guide,  interpreter,  courier,  and  valet,  as  occasion  re- 
quired ;  and  Melor  Beeron  was  his  master — a  very  kind 
master  too ;  sat  up  rather  late,  but  good  pay.  .  He  remem- 
bered Melor  Beeron's  personal  appearance  as  if  he  had  only 
seen  him  yesterday ;  very  tall,  very  large  man ;  red  hair, 
blue  eyes,  raw-boned  figure ;  great  man  to  fight ;  very  fine- 
looking  man ;  wrote  poetry  about  Greece  and  was  author  of 
a  book  called  the  History  of  England.  He  had  read  them  in 
the  Greek  language,  and  considered  them  very  fine.  Hoped 
our  honors  would  excuse  him,  but  thought  we  would  like  to 
eeo  a  friend  of  Melor  Beeron,  who  was  acquainted  with  him 
personally  and  could  tell  us  all  about  him.  Was  in  very  re- 


-104  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

duced  circumstances  now ;  lived  by  means  of  the  fountain ; 
gentlemen  who  came  to  see  it  always  gave  him  a  trifle  of 
change. 

Of  course  after  receiving  all  this  information  we  could  ngt 
do  less  than  give  the  old  man  a  trifle  of  change.  He  bowed 
very  low  again,  expressed  his  devotion  to  the  English,  his 
undying  attachment  to  Melor  Beeron,  and  gradually  disappear- 
ed through  the  doorway  in  the  wall. 

Our  walk  back  from  the  fountain  was  over  rugged  and 
precipitous  rocks.  The  distance  to  the  town  is  about  two 
miles. 

I  chanced  next  day  to  be  passing  the  Hotel  de  Commerce, 
rather  a  dirty  establishment  kept  by  an  Italian,  but  the  best 
in  Hermopolis,  when  it  occurred  to  me  that  it  would  be  well 
to  look  in  and  see  if  there  were  any  late  arrivals.  I  did  so  ; 
I  looked  in,  and  saw  some  late  arrivals  that  astonished  me 
not  a  little.  Seated  at  a  table,  in  all  the  glory  of  omelette, 
coffee,  bread,  and  wine,  were  my  friends,  Doctor  Mendoza  and 
the  Madam,  who  had  arrived  that  morning  in  the  French 
steamer.  "  Oh,  mon  Dieu !"  cried  the  Madam,  "  Voila  le 
General !"  "  Very  bad  Hotel  dis,"  said  the  Doctor  ;  "  come 
sit  down ;  no  much  for  mange  here.  I  no  like  Hermopolis. 
Sacr-r-r !  Diabolo !  One  miserable  Sporkeria  dis  hotel ' 
Eh,  bien  !  I  shall  be  tres  contents  to  leave  Hermopolis  !  Tis 
imposs  to  remain  here  !" 

The  coffee  was  muddy  to  an  excess ;  it  choked  the  Doctor ; 
and  this  excited  him  to  such  a  degree  that  the  Madam  was 
forced  to  interfere  in  order  to  prevent  him  from  chastising  the 
waiter  for  not  making  better  coffee.  However,  we  made  the 
best  of  what  there  was,  exclusive  of  the  coffee,  which  indeed 
was  no  worse  than  any  I  had  tasted  in  Syra ;  and  then  the 
Doctor  informed  me  that  he  had  concluded  to  go  on  as  far  as 
Constantinople,  having  heard  that  there  was  an  excellent 
hotel  in  Pera,  kept  by  one  Misseri,  a  celebrated  oriental 
dragoman. 

I  was  very  glad  to  meet  my  friends  again ;  and  we  spent 
the  rest  of  the  afternoon  rambling  about  the  suburbs  of  the 
town  in  search  of  novelties,  and  enjoying  such  conversation  as 


SYRA.  lo^ 

we  could  carry  on  ima  mixture  of  French,  English,  and 
Italian.  The  Madam  was  quite  enthusiastic  on  the  Acropolis 
of  Athens  ;  but  the  Doctor  could  not  rid  his  mind  of  the  vast 
difference  that  existed  between  the  Orient  of  Athens  and  the 
Commerce  of  Hermopolis — especially  in  the  matter  of  coffee, 
which  he  declared  was  one  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  He  hoped, 
however,  to  get  some  clear  coffee  on  the  French  steamer  tc 
Constantinople,  by  means  of  which  he  anticipated  being  ena- 
bled to  wash  the  grounds  of  the  Hermopolis  coffee  down  his 
throat  by  the  time  he  arrived  at  the  Hotel  de  Misseri. 

The  Island  of  Syra,  described  by  Homer  as  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  fertile  in  the  Grecian  Archipelago,  must 
have  suffered  a  considerable  change  in  its  aspect  since  the 
days  of  the  great  poet.  Certainly  there  is  no  beauty  about 
it  now,  save  that  of  a  pleasant  climate  and  richly-colored 
atmosphere ;  and  its  fertility  seemed  to  me  to  consist  chiefly 
in  rocks,  which  grow  all  over  it  with  wonderful  luxuriance. 
The  green  spots,  if  there  be  any,  are  few  and  far  between 
I  saw  nothing  that  looked  at  all  green  there  except  the 
green  spectacles  of  Doctor  Mendoza,  and  an  English  tourist, 
with  a  red  guide-book.  The  fact  is,  I  have  always  been  of 
opinion  that  Homer  drew  largely  upon  his  imagination.  His 
battles  are  rather  tough,  to  say  the  least  o  them  *;  his  heroes 
somewhat  given  to  marvelous  deeds  of  courage ;  and  his 
poetry  and  facts  a  little  on  the  blood-and-thunder  order.  Be- 
sides what  could  he  tell  about  the  beauty  or  fertility  of  Syra, 
except  from  hearsay  ?  He  was  perfectly  blind,  according  to  all 
historical  accounts,  and  if  he  saw  the  island  at  all  when  he 
wrote  about  it,  he  proban^  saw  it  in  imagination,  which 
every  body  knows  is  a  very  delusive  way  of  seeing.  Now 
plain  facts,  upon  being  distilled  through  the  brain  of  a  poet, 
often  become  highly  charged  with  the  colors  of  fancy.  Homer 
distilled  largely  ;  his  brain  was  an  extensive  establishment ; 
he  worked  up  facts  and  fictions  with  equal  facility ;  a  thirsty 
public  swallowed  with  avidity;  and  thirsty  publics  have  swal 
lowed  ever  since  as  a  matter  of  fashion.  The  fashion  is  kept 
up  chiefly  by  other  distillers  of  facts.  Byron  did  a  large 
business  in  that  way  ;  he  did  it  well ;  his  brain  was  on  a 


105  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

grand  scale  ;  nothing  passed  througlpit  without  acquiring  ail 
intoxicating  power.  Who  is  there,  with  a  soul  in  his  body, 
that  has  not  been  glorious  on  draughts  of  Byron  ?  Lamartine 
distills  also ;  I  recommend  him  as  an  antidote ;  he  produces 
soda-water  that  allays  the  thirst ;  he  sobers  people  who  have 
been  made  drunk  by  all  the  poets,  from  the  days  of  Homer 
down  to  the  days  of  Lamartine.  No  man,  however  intoxicat- 
ed by  the  powers  of  genius,  can  read  Lamartine's  experience 
in  Greece  without  becoming  instantly  sobered.  The  dying 
request  of  this  great  poet,  when  attacked  by  a  slight  indis- 
position, that  he  should  be  buried  under  a  certain  classical 
tree  ;  that  on  the  bark  of  that  tree  but  a  single  word  should 
be  inscribed  to  mark  his  grave — no  other  word  than  the  name 
of  his  Maker,  so  that  the  world  might  know  where  Lamar- 
tine lay — is  the  most  intensely  affecting  piece  of  bathos,  to  say 
nothing  of  its  blasphemy,  in  the  whole  range  of  sentimental 
literature.  If  that  fails  to  make  the  toujrist  weep  who  fol- 
lows, he  should  be  condemned  to  read  Raffaelle  the  remain- 
der of  his  days. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

SMYRNA. 

OUR  passage  from  Syra  to  Smyrna  was  very  pleasant,  not- 
withstanding a  stiff  breeze  which  compelled  us  to  lie  close  in 
under  the  lee  of  Ohio.  The  weather  was  clear  and  bracing  ; 
and  upon  entering  the  Gulf  of  Smyrna  nothing  could  surpass 
the  rich  glow  of  the  atmosphere,  and  the  variety  and  beauty 
of  the  scenery.  By  the  time  we  reached  the  anchorage,  every 
passenger  was  ready  to  go  on  shore  and  enjoy  a  day's  ramble 
on  terra  firma.  While  we  were  waiting  for  the  officers  of  the 
port  to  come  alongside,  and  give  the  required  permission,  I 
made  a  hasty  sketch  of  the  town  including  the  neighboring 
hills  and  the  old  Genoese  castle,  which  I  have  since  filled  up 


SMYRNA  FROM  THE  ANCHtRAOE. 


108  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

more  in  detail  from  a  drawing  kindly  presented  to  me  in  Flor 
ence  by  my  esteemed  friend  Kellogg,  the  artist.  It  will  give 
a  better  idea  of  Smyrna,  perhaps,  than  pages  of  description. 

In  the  course  of  two  hours,  during  which  we  were  forced 
to  restrain  our  impatience  and  listen  to  the  most  barbarous 
jargon  of  tongues  on  board  and  all  around  the  steamer,  it  was 
formally  announced  to  us  by  the  Captain  that  Smyrna  was  in 
quarantine,  and  that  any  body  who  went  ashore  would  have 
to  remain  there  until  the  quarantine  had  expired.  We  were 
at  liberty  to  go  ashore  if  we  pleased,  because  the  steamer 
was  not  in  quarantine,  but  we  were  not  at  liberty  to  come  on 
board  again  because  Smyrna  was  in  quarantine,  and  the 
steamer  required  pratique  for  the  next  port.  Smyrna  and 
every  body  in  it  had  been  laboring  under  the  influence  of 
quarantine  for  the  past  five  days,  and  would  continue  to 
labor  under  it  for  three  days  to  come,  by  which  period  he 
(the  Captain)  hoped  to  be  safely  at  anchor  in  Constantinople 

This  piece  of  information  enabled  me  to  comprehend  cer- 
tain proceedings  which  had  occasioned  me  much  anxiety  of 
mind  for  some  time  previous.  I  saw  now  that  the  dark- 
looking  men  in  the  boats,  with  flashy  uniforms,  who  were, 
taking  little  slips  of  paper  from  the  officers  and  passengers  of 
the  steamer,  in  wire  tongs  and  strange-looking  boxes  with 
long  handles ;  and  shouting  fiercely  to  all  the  boatmen  who 
dared  to  approach  us — sometimes  giving  them  a  thrust  with 
the  boat-hooks — were  not  really  convinced  that  we  had  the 
plague  on  board ;  but  that  they  were  simply  doing  their  duty 
in  the  usual  form.  It  was  my  first  experience  in  the  mys- 
teries of  quarantine ;  and  I  was  much  interested  in  all  the 
forms  and  ceremonies.  The  wrath  of  the  cnra  officer  in  the 
boat,  when  there  was  any  danger  of  contact ;  the  excessive 
caution  of  the  men  with  the  little  tongs ;  the  intense  fear 
under  which  all  parties  seemed  to  labor,  that  the  smallest 
scrap  of  paper,  or  the  slightest  touch  of  human  flesh,  even  in 
its  most  healthy  condition,  would  carry  death  and  destruction 
somewhere,  either  into  Smyrna  or  out  of  it,  was  a  very  curi- 
ous and  striking  exhibition  of  the  power  of  fancy.  It  was 
enough  to  fill  the  soul  of  any  timid  man  with  such  dreadful 


SMYRNA  109 

visions  of  cholera,  plague,  fevers  and  other  diseases,  as  could 
scarcely  fail  in  the  end  to  result  in  a  serious  fit  of  illness,  if 
not  in  plague  itself.  The  cause  of  the  present  quarantine 
was  equally  as  absurd  as  the  ceremonies.  It  appeared  that 
some  vessel  under  quarantine,  was  taking  in  a  supply  of 
water,  which  is  permitted  under  certain  rigid  rules,  in  regard 
to  the  handling  of  the  hose.  One  of  the  men  in  the  water- 
boat  lost  his  balance  and  touched  the  hose  with  his  hand,  by 
which  means  he  brought  himself  and  Smyrna  with  its  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  inhabitants,  under  the  restrictions  of 
quarantine  for  eight  days. 

I  had  no  great  desire  to  go  ashore,  previous  to  this  unpleas- 
ant piece  of  intelligence,  simply  because  there  appeared  to 
be  no  difficulty  in  the  way ;  but  I  now  became  inspired  with 
an  irresistible  desire  to  take  a  ramble  through  Smyrna  ;  and 
although  it  was  my  intention  to  stop  here  on  my  return  from 
Constantinople,  it  was  impossible  to  wait  that  length  of  time 
under  existing  circumstances.  Such  a  taboo  as  this,  in  a 
country  professing  to  have  some  intercourse  with  civilized 
nations,  was  not  to  be  borne;  it  was  an  outrage  upon  the 
rights  of  man.  My  ticket  was  for  Constantinople;  it  was 
good  for  the  next  steamer — if  the  next  steamer  should  not  be 
laid  up  in  quarantine  by  a  similar  misfortune  to  its  hose-pipe. 
But  I  was  not  going  to  sacrifice  the  rights  of  man  for  a  mis- 
erable piece  of  leather.  The  water-boat  was  going  ashore, 
and  so  was  one  individual  from  the  steamer,  if  he  was  destin- 
ed never  again  to  leave  the  precincts  of  Smyrna.  Taking  my 
knapsack -upon  my  shoulder,  I  bade  an  affectionate  farewell 
to  Doctor  Mendoza  and  the  Madam,  who  looked  exceed- 
ingly concerned  for  my  future  fate ;  and  jumping  into  the 
boat  was  soon  under  way  for  the  wharf.  It  was  quite  prob- 
able, from  the  uncertain  contingencies  upon  which  the  lib- 
erty of  locomotion  depends  in  this  part  of  the  world,  that  I 
should  never  see  my  worthy  friends  again  ;  so  I  turned  to 
take  a  last  look  at  them  before  the  boat  reached  the  landing. 
The  Doctor  was  shaking  his  head  gravely,  as  if  he  thought 
it  "imposs"  that  all  could  be  right  in  a  certain  quarter;  and 
the  Madam  was  talking  with  rapid  gestures  as  if  she  fully 


110  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

concurred  in  that  opinion,  and  was  enabled  from  observation 
on  various  occasions  to  confirm  it  by  the  most  ample  test- 
imony. 

One  Salvo,  the  son  of  a  ship-chandler,  took  possession  of 
me,  and  led  me  off  victoriously  to  a  small  hotel,  kept  near 
the  wharf  by  his  father,  Salvo  the  elder.  There  I  was  fed  on 
ham  and  eggs,  in  the  most  sumptuous  manner  by  the  whole 
Salvo  family,  who  were  not  only  proud,  but  extremely  happy 
in  being  enabled  to  claim  acquaintance  with  so  distinguished 
a  guest.  Salvo  Junior  had  spent  three  years  in  America, 
where  he  was  certain  he  had  seen  me  hundreds  of  times  , 
and  Salvo  Senior  was  the  father  of  Salvo  Junior,  and  had  fur- 
nished American  ships  with  articles  of  chandlery  for  thirty 
years  past,  and,  consequently,  on  both  grounds  had  a  perfect 
right  to  know  me ;  and  Mrs.  Salvo,  although  she  spoke  no- 
thing but  Greek  and  Italian,  and  had  never  seen  me  either 
in  America  or  elsewhere,  up  to  the  date  of  my  arrival  at  the 
Salvo  Hotel,  yet  being  the  wife  of  Salvo  Senior,  and  the  mother 
of  Salvo  Junior,  and,  moreover,  a  very  fat  and  good-natured 
old  lady,  I  was  forced  to  acknowledge  that  I  had  seen  either 
herself,  or  somebody  a  good  deal  like  her,  before.  It  was 
really  a  luxury  to  receive  so  much  kindness  in  a  strange  land, 
accompanied  as  it  was  by  ham  and  eggs  and  several  cups  of 
excellent  black  tea ;  and  I  was  altogether  too  happy  to  ana- 
lyze the  motives.  That  it  was  all  genuine  kindness,  I  found 
to  my  great  satisfaction  before  leaving  Smyrna,  for  the  bill 
was  unusually  moderate,  and  it  required  some  persuasion  to 
induce  that  worthy  family  to  accept  any  thing  for  service, 
which  is  rather  a  rare  occurrence  at  the  best  establishment 
in  Europe  or  Asia  Minor. 

Salvo  Junior  gave  himself  up  wholly  to  rny  pleasure  during 
my  sojourn  in  Smyrna.  We  rambled  about  the  bazaars,  ex- 
plored the  ruins  of  the  old  Genoese  fort,  rode  out  to  all  the 
neighboring  villages,  and  smoked  the  chibouck  and  sipped 
cafle  in  every  respectable  establishment  throughout  the  city. 

A  few  days  may  be  spent  very  pleasantly  in  Smyrna.  The 
costumes  of  the  inhabitants  are  remarkable  for  richness  and 
variety ;  and  the  bazaars  and  different  places  of  public  re- 


SMYRNA.  Ill 

sort,  both  for  business  and  pleasure,  afford  an  excellent  idea 
of  Oriental  life.  The  beauty  of  the  Smyrniote  women  (some 
travelers  call  them  ladies)  is  proverbial ;  nor  has  it,  like  most 
accounts  of  the  refined  state  of  society  in  Smyrna,  been  ex- 
aggerated. They  certainly  deserve  their  reputation  for  dark 
flashing  eyes  and  classical  features  ;  and  that  being  the  only 
flattering  reputation  they  do  deserve,  from  all  I  could  learn 
on  reliable  authority,  as  well  as  from  my  own  limited  observ- 
ation, it  aflbrds  me  great  p^asure  to  accord  it  to  them. 

Lounging  about  the  bazaars  a  day  or  two  after  my  arrival 
in  Smyrna,  I  thought  I  recognized  a  familiar  voice.  A  fash- 
ionable-looking tourist  was  making  a  bargain  for  a  fez.  His 
dress  was  new  to  me  ;  but  there  could  be  no  mistake  in  the 
voice.  I  went  up  cautiously  and  looked  at  his  face.  It  was 
the  face  of  an  American  gentleman  whom  I  had  met  in 
various  parts  of  Europe.  Bimby  was  his  name.  He  was  in 
the  most  exquisite  distress  in  regard  to  the  texture  of  the  fez. 
The  fact  is,  poor  Bimby  was  the  victim  of  want ;  not  that  he 
was  in  want  of  money  ;  he  had  plenty  of  that — too  much  for 
his  own  happiness  ;  but  he  always  wanted  something  that  it 
was  very  difficult,  if  not  quite  impossible,  to  find  in  this  world. 
Every  morning  he  got  up  oppressed  with  wants ;  every  night 
he  went  to  bed  overwhelmed  and  broken  down  with  wants. 
I  never  saw  a  man  in  comfortable  circumstances  in  such  a 
dreadful  state  of  destitution  in  all  my  life.  When  I  first  saw 
him,  he  was  on  the  way  from  Florence  to  Milan,  in  quest  of 
a  pair  of  pantaloons  of  a  particular  style.  No  man  in  Europe 
understood  cutting  except  Pantaletti.  There  was  a  sit  in  Pant- 
aletti  that  made  him  indispensable.  He  (Bimby)  had  tried 
the  Parisian  tailors,  but  they  were  deficient  in  the  knees.  It 
was  his  intention  to  proceed  at  once  from  Milan  to  Leipsic  for 
boots ;  the  Germans  were  the  only  people  who  brought  boots 
to  perfection,  and  decidedly  the  best  were  to  be  had  at  Leip- 
sic. He  expected  to  be  obliged  to  return  to  Paris  for  shirts; 
there  was  a  sit  in  the  collar  of  the  Parisian  shirt  that  suited 
him.  His  medicines  he  always  purchased  ^London ;  his 
cigars  he  was  forced  to  import  from  Havana ;  his  Latakia 
tobacco  he  was  compelled  to  purchase  himself  in  Smyrna, 


112  A  CEUSADE  IN  THE  EAST 

and  this  was  partly  the  occasion  of  his  present  visit.  As  to 
wines,  it  was  nonsense  to  undertake  to  drink  any  but  the  pure 
Johannisberg ;  which  he  generally  saw  bottled  on  the  Rhine 
every  summer,  in  order  to  avoid  imposition.  His  winters  he 
spent  chiefly  in  Spain  ;  it  was  the  only  country  where  good 
cream  was  to  be  had ;  but  the  coffee  was  inferior,  and  he 
sometimes  had  to  cross  the  Pyrenees  for  want  of  a  good  cup 
of  coffee.  No  mode  of  traveling  suited  him  exactly — in  fact, 
he  disliked  traveling.  Riding  hejiated,  because  it  jolted  him ; 
walking,  because  it  tired  him ;  the  snow,  because  it  was  cold ; 
the  sun,  because  it  was  warm ;  Rome,  because  it  was  damp ; 
Nice,  because  it  was  dry ;  Athens,  because  it  was  dusty.  (By 
the  way,  I  disliked  Athens  myself,  chiefly  on  that'  account ; 
Bimby  was  right  there.)  But  it  was  impossible  for  him  to 
live  in  America  again.  What  could  any  man  of  taste  do  there  ? 
No  pictures,  no  ruins,  no  society,  no  opera,  no  classical  asso- 
ciations— nothing  at  all,  except  business ;  and  all  sorts  of 
business  he  despised.  It  was  a  ridiculous  as  well  as  a  vulgar 
way  of  spending  life.  In  fact,  the  only  decent  people  he  had 
met  with  were  the  French ;  a  man  might  contrive  to  exist 
a  while  in  Paris.  Not  that  he  approved  altogether  of  tht« 
French  language  ;  it  wanted  depth  and  richness  ;  the  only 
language  worthy  a  man  of  sense  was  the  Sanscrit.  As  soon 
as  he  had  suited  himself  in  boots  at  Leipsic,  he  was  going  to 
perfect  himself  in  Sanscrit  at  the  University  of  Berlin  ;  after 
which  he  hoped  to  recover  the  effects  of  hard  study  by  a  tour 
through  Bavaria,  which  was  the  only  country  on  the  face  of 
the  earth  where  the  beer  was  fit  to  drink. 

Unhappy  Bimby  !  miserable  Bimby  !  Man  wants  but  lit- 
tle here  below,  as  a  general  rule  ;  but  there  are  exceptions. 
Bimby  will  be  the  victim  of  want  to  the  last  day  of  his  life. 
If  not  born  in  him,  it  was  bred  in  him  by  bad  training,  or  no 
training  at  all. 

But  enough  of  human  frailties.  Bimby  has  a  kind  heart, 
and  really  wants  nothing  to  make  him  a  very  good  fellow, 
except  ten  H&irs  a  day  of  useful  employment. 

The  next  steamer  for  Constantinople  was  fortunate  enough 
to  escape  the  vexations  of  quarantine.  I  got  my  ticket  duly 


SMYRNA.  113 

vised  at  the  Bureau ;  and,  having  taken  leave  of  my  un- 
happy friend,  who  was  hound  to  Athens  in  search  of  a  Greek 
capote,  and  of  Salvo  Senior,  and  Mrs.  Salvo,  and  Salvo 
Junior,  I  hade  good-by  to  Smyrna,  and  departed  for  the  City 
of  the  Sultan 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

CONSTANTINOPLE. 

THERE  is  no  longer  the  charm  of  romance  in  Mediterranean 
travel  ;  steam  has  swallowed  up  every  thing — even  in  great 
part  the  beautiful  turbans  and  flowing  robes  of  the  Turks, 
which  are  fast  disappearing  in  all  the  traveled  routes,  and  it 
seems  likely  to  swallow  up  their  prejudices  and  beards  at  last. 
Now  one  is  whirled  along  at  such  a  rate  that  he  has  to  keep 
a  book  in  one  hand  and  a  map  in  the  other  to  know  where 
he  is.  Tourists  are  even  known  and  cheated  according  to 
the  color  of  their  books;  red  indicating  Anglo-Saxon  origin, 
full  purses,  and  abundant  credulity  ;  black  denoting  cunning, 
and  all  other  colors  the  poverty  and  insignificance  of  mongrel 
nations.  It  is  a  mere  summer  excursion  all  over  the  Medi- 
terranean. Starting  from  Marseilles,  you  are  steamed  all 
round  Spain  in  a  few  days  ;  or  if  you  like  you  take  a  glance 
at  Africa  from  Algiers  to  Tunis,  or  a  peep  at  Italy,  com- 
mencing at  Nice  and  ending  at  Naples  ;  and  then  you  have 
Neapolitan  lines  all  around  Sicily,  and  the  French  lines  again 
to  Malta  ;  and  from  Malta  English  and  French  lines  to  Alex- 
andria, or  to  Constantinople,  touching  at  Athens  and  tho 
Greek  islands,  and  Austrian  lines  all  over  the  Levant,  and 
Russian  and  Austrian  lines  throughout  the  Black  Sea  and  up 
through  Eastern  Europe.  It  is  nothing  now  to  be  steamed 
from  New  York  to  Vienna,  all  the  way  by  water,  or  from 
California  into  the  interior  of  Russia.  Even  the  Nile  is  done 
by  steam  from  Alexandria  to  Thebes,  and  the  old  temples  of 
Egypt  reverberate  with  the  thunders  of  the  escape-pipe,  while 
the  Arabs  of  the  Libyan  Desert  look  down  in  wonder  from 
their  camels  on  the  thing  of  life  that  plows  its  way  against. 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  115 

the  rushing  waters.  And  as  for  railways,  I  will  not  under- 
take to  say  with  what  facility  one  can  become  a  traveled 
gentleman  in  Europe,  lest  you  should  deem  me  guilty  of 
raillery,  or  at  how  cheap  a  rate  a  man  may  become  classical, 
with  the  aid  of  Murray  and  steam,  lest  I  should  be  suspected 
of  puffing. 

Near  the  Dardanelles  we  had  a  fine  view  "of  the  plains  of 
Troy,  upon  which  stood  in  ancient  times  the  famous  city  of 
that  name,  now  the  site  of  a  small  town  called  Taos.  There 
stands  in  bold  relief  to  this  day  the  tomb  of  Achilles  at  Si- 
gocum,  where  Homer  says  the  hero  was  buried.  It  was  here 
that  most  of  the  battles  between  the  Greeks  and  Trojans  were 
fought ;  and  on  this  tomb  Polyxena  was  sacrificed,  and  Al- 
exander, in  after  ages,  paid  tribute  to  the  "  bravest  of  all  the 
Greeks" — for  which  see  Homer,  Lempriere,  and  Murray,  es- 
pecially the  latter,  who  gives  the  particulars  neatly  done  up 
in  a  hand-book. 

On  entering  the  Dardanelles,  we  looked  out  for  the  place 
where  Leander  was  drowned  in  swimming  to  his  lady-love, 
and  where  the  beautiful  Hero  threw  herself  from  the  tower 
in  despair ;  also  the  precise  spot  where  Byron  caught  a  cold 
in  swimming  for  fame,  and  where  Xerxes  built  his  bridge  of 
boats,  and  made  a  fool  of  himself  a  long  time  before  by  beat- 
ing the  sea  because  it  swamped  his  ships  and  destroyed  his 
labors — all  of  which  we  probably  saw,  but  I  can  not  assert  it 
as  a  positive  fact. 

We  entered  the  Sea  of  Marmora  by  sundown,  and  became 
poetical  over  its  sleeping  isles.  It  was  a  night  for  romantic 
thoughts ;  the  moon  was  so  minutely  visible  through  the 
clear  atmosphere  that  its  seas  and  mountains  lay  outspread 
upon  it  like  a  chart  of  silver,  the  sky  glittered  with  stars,  the 
waters  of  Marmora  were  as  smooth  as^  glass,  and  the  isles 
softly  steeped  in  a  mellow  light,  and  the  dim  outlines  of  the 
mountains  of  Europe  and  of  Asia  loomed  up  like  sleeping 
giants  in  the  mystic  background. 

About  the  decks  lie  bearded  Turks,  smoking  their  chiboucks, 
and  Greeks  in  petticoats,  and  pale  Armenians  in  tall  turbans 
and  long  robes,  sipping  their  coffee  and  talking  of  the  money- 


116 


A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 


market ;  and  dirty  Arabs,  in  their  brown  capotes,  doing  no- 
thing" at  all,  and  not  likely  to  do  any  thing  for  some  time ; 
and  Jewish  peddlers  and  pilgrims,  nodding  and  reading  aloud 
from  the  Talmud,  or  praying  in  dark  corners ;  and  Moham- 
medans of  all  castes,*  spreading  their  mats  in  the  most  incon- 
venient places,  and  bowing  down  toward  Mecca,  regardless 
of  the  world  and"  all  its  prejudices.  Some  hundreds  of  stupid 


Turkish  soldiers,  with  heavy  faces,  half  sea-sick,  are  gathered 
in  huge  piles  on  the  forecastle  deck,  or  gamble  in  groups 
about  the  gangways  ;  and  abaft  the  break  of  the  quarter-deck 
is  a  large  cross-barred  cage,  covered  over  like  a  tent,  filled 
with  masked,  and  black-eyed,  laughing,  romping  Turkish 
women  and  squalling  babies,  belonging  to  the  Harems  of 
those  old  gray-bearded  Mussulmans  close  by  smoking  their 
chiboucks  or  bobbing  at  Mecca  ;  and  now  and  then  there 
emerges  from  the  cage  an  ugly  African,  who  draws  her  mask 
over  her  thick  lips  if  you  look  toward  her,  with  as  much  co- 
quetry as  if  she  thought  it  would  not  do  to  let  too  much 
beauty  be  seen  at  once.  Officers  without  number,  mustached, 
gilded,  brass-banded,  and  buttoned  to  excess,  go  up  stairs  and 
down  stairs,  and  smoke  cigars  about  the  decks,  and  never 
seem  to  be  doing  any  thing  but  passing  the  time  as  pleasantly 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  117 

as  possible  :  sometimes  you  see  a  gold-banded  cap,  with  a 
gentleman  in  uniform  under  it,  parading  itself  on  a  high 
plank  amidships,  and  if  you  watch  him  carefully  you  will  see 
him  raise  his  right  hand  or  his  left,  point  mysteriously  to 
either  side,  keep  it  so  a  few  moments,  and  then  drop  it  with 
graceful  air,  greatly  exhausted  by  the  effort.  That  man  has 
done  his  duty ;  he  has  indicated  to  the  helmsman  that  it 
would  be  advisable  to  port  or  starboard  a  little ;  and  then 
he  comes  down,  with  a  proud  consciousness  of  knowledge 
which  the  generality  of  mankind  does  not  share,  and  resigns 
himself  to  cigars  and  conversation.  Stewards  and  waiters 
are  continually  going  forward  to  and  returning  from  the  head- 
quarters of  the  cuisinier,  where  important  consultations  are 
held  on  diet,  and  matters  prepared  for  the  table,  as  in  the 
German  Diets.  Grim,'  black-looking  firemen,  besmeared  with 
coal  and  soot,  come  up  so  unexpectedly  out  of  little  round 
holes  in  the  deck  that  the  passengers  standing  near  are  startled 
out  of  a  week's  growth — if  passengers  in  this  part  of  the 
world  can  be  startled.  And  we  who  walk  the  quarter-deck, 
speculating  upon  all  these  things,  and  the  rise  and  probable 
destiny  of  Mohammedanism  ;  priding  ourselves  upon  our  su- 
periority over  all  other  nations  in  piety,  morals,  and  railroads ; 
discoursing  on  the  progress  of  civilization  under  the  mighty 
influence  of  steam  ;  damning  Turks,  Arabs,  and  Greeks  when 
they  get  in  our  way ;  and  apostrophizing  the  heavenly  bodies, 
the  scenery,  and  Latakia  tobacco ;  we  are  gentlemen  of  ele- 
gant leisure,  traveling  for  our  own  amusement  and  the  benefit 
of  mankind.  We  carry  red  books  in  our  hands,  and  astonish 
our  friends  at  home  with  our  proficiency  in  the  classics  ;  we 
are  the  men  who  have  seen  the  world,  and  are  just  popping 
in.  on  Constantinople  for  pastime. 

A  wonderful  sight  is  this  city  of  the  Sultan,  after  all ;  one 
of  the  few  things  the  traveler  enjoys  on  this  side  of  the  world 
that  approach  the  enthusiastic  anticipations  formed  by  read- 
ing works  of  imagination.  I  know  of  nothing  to  compare 
with  the  first  view  of  (Constantinople.  Any  thing  like  de- 
scription seems  tame  and  out  of  place  in  attempting  to  give 
an  idea  of  such  a  scene.  It  is  purely  a  matter  of  feeling ; 


118  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

there  is  no  analyzing  the  sensations  experienced  by  the  be- 
holder ;  he  may  be  perfectly  conscious  of  the  nature  of  his 
own  impressions,  yet  entirely  unable  to  convey  any  adequate 
idea  of  them  to  others.^"  To  me  it  seems  a  renewal  of  the  un- 
alloyed pleasures  of  youth  ;  a  return  after  mingling  with  the 
world  and  its  realities,  to  the  first  pure,  joyous  sense  of  the 
beautiful.  All  that  I  had  ever  read  of  the  East  and  its  ro- 
mance was  here  a  gorgeous  dream  realized ;  yet  not  all  a 
reality,  for  there  was  no  dividing  mark  between  the  strictly 
real  and  what  so  imperceptibly  merged  into  realms  of  fancy. 

We  reached  the  anchorage  on  the  outside  a  few  hours  before 
daylight.  The  grating  jar  of  the  chain  as  it  ran  out  aroused 
us  from  our  pleasant  dreams  of  home  ;  and  soon  we  heard  the 
Arabs  and  Turks  on  deck  echo  in  guttural  tones  the  words 
Stamboul !  Stamboul !  There  was  a  charm  in  the  name  that 
drove  away  from  me  every  vestige  of  sleep.  I  was  wide 
awake  in  a  moment.  My  more  experienced  fellow-travelers, 
however,  turned  over  to  enjoy  another  nap,  with  the  philosoph- 
ical remark  that  "  it's  a  great  bore  to  be  waked  up  when  one 
can't  see  any  thing  in  the  dark."  There  was  truth  as  well 
as  philosophy  in  this,  but  all  my  efforts  to  sleep  again  were 
in  vain.  From  the  open  sky-light  came  down  now  and  then 
the  magic  words  Stamboul !  Stamboul !  bringing  before  me,  as 
7  strove  to  keep  down  my  eyelids,  visions  of  gilded  palaces  and 
seraglios,  and  Sultans  in  turbans  and  flowing  robes,  and  the 
spray  of  fountains,  and  caiques  sweeping  over  the  flashing 
waters,  and  the  countless  things  of  beauty  that  are  involun- 
tarily associated  with  the  first  thoughts  of  Constantinople.  It 
was  useless  to  try-any  longer — an  invisible  something  lifted 
me  up  bodily  and  tumbled  me  out  on  the  cabin  floor,  where 
I  contrived,  after  slipping  on  two  or  three  pairs  of  boots  that 
were  much  too  short  or  too  long,  and  some  trowsers  that 
bagged  in  the  legs  with  a  very  Turkish  effect,  to  grope  out 
what  belonged  to  me,  and  rushing  up  on  deck  I  just  succeeded 
in  not  carrying  away  the  roof  of  the^companion-way. 

The  gleam  of  approaching  day  was  spread  over  the  eastern 
sky  ;  low  on  the  water  were  a  few  pale  lights  flickering  with 
a  faint  glimmer,  while  overhead  all  was  deep  in  night,  but 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  119 

clear  and  soft,  and  spangled  with  countless  brilliant  stars. 
There  was  a  loom  of  darkness  visible  in  the  distance,  shape- 
less and  shadowy  as  a  cloud  resting  on  the  horizon ;  all  eyes 
were  turned  toward  it;  that  is  to  say,  all  eyes  that  were 
open,  for  the  mass  of  the  deck  passengers  were  snoring  away 
in  perfect  indifference  to  the  Sublime  Sultan  and  all  his 
dominions.  The  women  in  the  cage,  however,  were  chatter 
ing  like  so  many  magpies,  as  usual  whether  by  day  or  night ; 
and  about  the  bulwarks  were  lounging  some  of  the  more 
enthusiastic  Turks  and  Arabs,  who  were  awakened  probably 
by  the  chattering,  or  unable  to  sleep,  like  myself,  from  a 
fevered  state  of  the  imagination ;  the  very  men  whose  con- 
versation about  Stamboul  had  so  charmed  me. 

"  Where  is  it  ?"  said  I  to  an  old  Turk,  who  reminded  me 
of  the  pictures  of  Mahomet,  "  is  that  it  where  the  lights  are  ?" 
"  Stamboul !"  replied  the  old  man,  nodding.  "  There  is  no- 
thing in  sight  but  that  dark  hill,  is  there?"  "  Stamboul !" 
rejoined  the  Turk.  "  I  can't  see  it,"  said  I.  "  Stamboul !" 
cried  the  old  man  pettishly.  "  You  don't  speak  English,  do 
you,  sir  ?"  "  Stamboul !"  he  bawled  at  the  top  of  his  voice, 
"  Stamboul !  Stamboul '"  It  was  quite  evident  that  the  old 
gentleman  was  touched  on  the  subject  of  Stamboul,  so  I  said 
no  more.  To  the  best  of  my  knowledge  he  never  uttered  a 
word  but  Stamboul  while  he  remained  on  the  steamer ;  and 
even  long  after  sunrise,  when  every  body  with  eyes  could  see 
the  well-known  mosques  and  minarets  within  gunshot,  he 
continued  to  point  at  them  and  repeat  to  every  passenger, 
"  Stamboul !  Stamboul !" 

As  the  day  opened  fair  and  clear,  the  outlines  of  the  highei 
points  broke  out  through  the  morning  atmosphere  and  stood 
in  bold  relief  against  the  sky,  and  soon  the  whole  magnificent 
view  was  revealed  with  the  startling  effect  of  an  optical  illu 
sion.  Mosques  and  minarets  there  were  in  profusion,  palacea 
with  all  the  architectural  ornament  of  oriental  taste,  rising 
from  within  the  walls  of  the  city,  hemmed  around  with  green 
shrubbery ;  round  white  domes,  glittering  like  globes  of  snow ; 
strangely-colored  houses,  with  projecting  roofs  and  grated 
windows ;  the  Turkish  flags  waving  on  the  towers ;  sails 


120  A  CUUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

gliding  noiselessly  out  from  under  the  shadow  of  the  ram- 
parts ;  vistas  of  valleys  and  hills  steeped  in  a  soft  glow  of 
purple,  through  which  gleamed  villages  and  pointed  minarets, 
and  the  moist  foliage  of  groves,  the  heights  beyond  tipped  with 
golden  rays  of  sunshine,  and  the  sleeping  waters  of  the  Bospho- 
rus,  lost  in  the  glitter  of  palaces  and  the  shadows  of  mountains. 
With  such  a  sky,  such  glowing  lights  and  mystic  shades,  such 
soft  distances,  such  strange  and  fanciful  fabrics,  looming  up  in 
a  perfect  maze  of  beauty,  it  is  difficult  to  reconcile  any  idea 
of  reality.  It  is  an  enchantment  beyond  all  the  dreams  of 
fancy ;  the  very  soul  is  rapt  in  an  ideal  world,  and  for  a  mo- 
ment reality  itself  becomes  a  dream  too  bright  and  beautiful 
for  comprehension. 

But  the  anchor  is  up  ;  the  hissing  steam  sends  us  dashingly 
into  the  Golden  Horn,  where,  amid  all  the  strange  sights  and 
confusing  sounds  possible  to  be  conscious  of  in  so  short  a  time, 
the  chain  runs  crashing  out  again,  and  we  are  permitted  to 
land  wherever  the  prophet  wills,  which  is  any  where  at  all. 
Here  let  me  solemnly  pause,  while  six  hotel  commissioners 
from  Pera  are  endeavoring  to  tear  me  to  pieces,  and  relieve 
my  mind  of  this  moral  truth ;  it  has  troubled  me  for  three 
weeks,  night  and  day  ;  it  has  twisted  itself  into  every  imagin- 
able shape  for  the  sake  of  originality,  but  the  truth  remains 
the  same — a  truth  involuntarily  spoken  by  every  traveler  who 
has  put  foot  ashore  here.  He  who  would  fill  his  soul  with  a 
thing  of  beauty,  that  he  would  cherish  as  a  joy  forever,  let 
him  never  go  beyond  the  first  full  view  of  Constantinople. 
To  see,  is  bliss  ;  to  smell,  is  reality  ,  to  touch,  is  misery  in  the 
last  degree. 

A  very  stylish  gentleman  in  petticoats  carried  my  knapsack, 
and  conducted  me  to  the  Hotel  de  Byzant,  a  clean  airy  estab- 
lishment, in  view  of  Stamboul  and  the  Bosphorus.  The  pro- 
prietor is  a  Hungarian,  his  wife  an  Italian,  and  his  daughter 
a  full-blown  beauty  of  sixteen. 

I  took  advantage  of  my  first  leisure  hour  to  call  at  the  Mis- 
seri  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  my  Portuguese  friends,  Doctor 
Mendoza  and  the  Madam ;  having  learned  from  Carlo  the  guide 
that  they  had  arrived  several  days  before.  The  Misseri  is  a  very 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  121 

handsome  and  fashionable  hotel,  situated  in  one  of  the  principal 
streets  of  Pera.  I  recommend  it  at  a  glance  to  all  traveling 
gentlemen  who  desire  to  get  rid  of  their  money  in  the  most 
expeditious  manner.  The  ante-rooms  and  passages  are  crowded 
from  morning  till  night  with  stylish  dragomans,  guides,  domes- 
tics and  lackeys,  who  seem  always  ready  and  willing  to 
show  inexperienced  tourists  how  such  a  thing  can  be  accom- 
plished without  loss  of  time. 

I  was  ushered  up  a  flight  of  stairs  into  a  grand  saloon,  and 
from  the  grand  saloon  out  again  and  up  several  more  flights 
of  stairs,  till  a  door  was  knocked  at,  and  my  name  was  an 
nounced.  "  Ah,  mon  Dieu  !"  cried  the  Madam,  "encore  Mon- 
fjeur  General!" — "Very  good  hotel  dis !"  said  the  Doctor, 
coming  forward  to  meet  me,  "walk  in;  sit  down;  take  some 
wine  !  very  good  wine  dis  !  De  Madam  is  a  little  indispose, 
but  to-morrow  he  shall  be  better." 

We  had  a  very  pleasant  time  of  it,  in  relating  our  adven- 
tures from  the  day  of  parting  at  Smyrna  ;  and  having  made 
an  engagement  to  visit  the  Giant's  Mountain  on  the  following 
day,  we  shook  hands  again  and  parted  with  a  profusion  of 
friendly  bows  on  both  sides. 

After  all  the  romance  of  oriental  life,  as  described  in  books, 
and  the  charm  of  laziness  so  beautifully  depicted  by  poetical 
writers,  there  is  a  want  of  real  comfort  and  enjoyment  pain- 
fully apparent  throughout  Constantinople.  A  person  of  ener- 
getic temperament  would  soon  desire  a  change.  The  novelty 
of  picturesque  costumes  and  strange  languages  and  customs 
soon  wears  away,  and  one  begins  to  feel  the  want  of  more  ex- 
citing scenes  to  keep  up  the  interest.  During  the  day  it  is 
pleasant  enough  to  ramble  about  the  bazaars,  or  take  a  stroll 
over  the  hills ;  but  when  night  comes  there  is  a  dreary  void, 
which  nothing  but  the  remembrance  of  more  exciting  scenes 
can  fill.  A  miserable  opera  or  a  tawdry  theatre  in  Pera  may 
serve  to  kill  time  for  one  or  two  evenings,  but  after  that  you 
might  as  well  be  in  the  midst  of  a  desert — better,  in  fact,  for 
then  you  would  not  be  disturbed  by  howling  dogs  or  the  ever- 
lasting cries  of  "  Yang  far!  Yang  far!" — the  fire  in  Stam- 
boul  that  can  never  be  seen.  The  streets  are  of  inky  dark- 

F 


122  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

ness ;  not  a  step  can  you  venture  out  without  a  guide  and  a 
lantern ;  and  even  then  it  is  problematical  whether  you  will 
return  without  broken  ankles  in  crossing  the  grave-yards,  or  the 
loss  of  a  coat-tail  in  a  battle  with  the  dogs.  In  the  register 
of  the  Hotel  de  Byzant  there  is  a  melancholy  statement  of 
an  English  traveler  who  complains  of  having  been  seized  by 
some  Turkish  soldiers  for  throwing  stones  at  what  he  sup- 
posed, in  the  darkness  of  night,  to  be  dogs,  but  which  turned 
out  to  be  the  soldiers  themselves,  who  immediately  seized  him 
and  put  him  in  prison  ;  and  it  was  not  until  next  day  that  he 
was  liberated.  The  insecurity  of  life  in  the  suburbs,  and  the 
total  absence  of  every  thing  like  law,  are  sufficient  in  them 
selves  to  keep  the  stranger  within  narrow  limits ;  and, 
although  there  is  more  security  now  than  there  wras  some 
years  past,  it  is  still  quite  bad  enough.  Cases  of  assassina- 
tion are  frequent,  and  robbery  is  so  common  an  occurrence  as 
to  excite  but  little  attention.  The  police  regulations  are  so  in- 
efficient, if  any  exist  at  all,  that  they  have  no  influence  what- 
ever in  the  prevention  of  crime.  There  is  no  public  press, 
except  one  or  two  small  papers  published  in  the  Frank  quar- 
ter, and  of  course  very  little  is  known  of  these  occurrences, 
except  what  finds  its  way  into  other  countries  through  private 
correspondence.  It  is  but  just,  however,  to  state  that  most 
of  these  crimes  are  committed  by  persons  residing  in  the 
Frank  quarters — either 'Greeks,  Italians,  or  the  refuse  popu- 
lation of  other  countries.  The  Turks  themselves  are  too  in- 
dolent to  engage  in  any  thing  requiring  energy  and  personal 
activity,  and  would  sooner  smoke  the  pipe  of  content  on  five 
piasters  a  day,  than  run  any  great  risk  to  gain  money  or  ex- 
pend their  time  in  useless  exertion.  They  find  it  much  easier 
to  cheat  in  a  quiet  way,  and  enjoy  the  profits  of  others,  than 
to  incur  the  labor  and  inconvenience  of  open  robbery  ;  and 
for  the  shedding  of  blood  in  a  small  way  they  have  no  taste. 
It  is  only  when  thoroughly  aroused  by  some  great  cause,  as 
in  the  war  with  the  Greeks,  that  they  cast  off  their  habitual 
lethargy,  and  go  earnestly  into  the  business  of  general  massacre, 
and  then  there  are  few  nations  that  can  surpass  them  in  deeds 
of  cruelty  and  wholesale  bloodshed. 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  J2:< 

The  Turks  are  in  many  respects  a  most  singular  and  in- 
comprehensible people.  Effeminate  in  their  habits  ;  dallying 
half  their  lives  in  the  harem,  or  frittering  away  their  time  in 
trifling  conversation  ;  sipping  their  coffee  from  morning  till 
night,  and  never  without  the  chibouck,  which  must  have  a 
stupefying  and  enervating  effect ;  yet  they  seem  to  be  capa- 
ble of  enduring  extraordinary  fatigue  ;  and  when  once  roused 
into  action  no  race  of  people  exhibit  greater  physical  courage 
or  more  ferocious  determination.  The  toils  of  travel ;  the 
torments  of  hunger  and  thirst ;  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold ; 
all  the  privations  of  military  life,  and  all  the  terrors  of  death, 
fail  to  swerve  them  from  their  bloody  career  of  revenge  or 
rapine.  This  wonderful  power  of  endurance  may  be  attri- 
buted, in  some  measure,  to  their  simple  mode  of  living,  and 
the  frequent  use  of  cold  water  in  their  daily  ablutions.  What 
would  be  considered  extreme  privation  in  America,  in  the 
matter  of  food  and  clothing,  is  habitual  with  the  Turk.  A 
crust  of  dry  bread,  with  a  bunch  of  grapes,  or  a  dish  of  soup, 
is  his  ordinary  meal ;  and  his  clothing,  in  winter  or  summer, 
consists  of  a  few  simple  robes  thrown  loosely  around  him. 
Flesh  of  all  kinds  is  sparingly  used,  and  strong  liquors  are 
almost  unknown  in  Oriental  climates  ;  and  even  here  in  Con- 
stantinople, where  the  winters  are  often  as  severe  as  in  New 
York,  the  native  population  sit  whole  days  in  their  shops 
without  fire,  and  never  think  of  destroying  themselves  by  the 
use  of  hot-air  stoves  or  the  death-dealing  salamander.  It  is 
a  matter  of  surprise  how  they  exist  through  the  inclemency  of 
the  season,  without  those  ordinary  comforts  which  we  are  apt 
to  regard  as  essential  to  life.  Their  houses  are  built  without 
fire-places  or  chimneys,  and  no  provision  is  made  for  heating 
them ;  so  that  all  who  are  accustomed  to  these  luxuries  find 
it  almost  impossible  to  endure,  even  for  a  few  weeks,  what 
the  Turks  endure  all  their  lives.  For  this  reason,  perhaps, 
they  know  little  of  those  fireside  enjoyments  which  tend  so 
much  in  other  countries  to  refine  and  socialize  the  human 
family,  and  cultivate  the  better  feelings  of  our  nzrture ;  for, 
whatever  may  be  the  sanitary  evils  of  an  atmosphere  vitiated 
by  an  excessive  use  of  fire,  it  may  be  set  down  as  an  axiom 


124  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST.  - 

that  in  no  country  where  the  thermometer  ranges  for  three 
months  near  the  freezing  point  can  a  community  of  people 
enjoy  the  pleasures  of  domestic  life,  or  the  refining  influence 
of  social  intercourse,  without  creating  a  comfortable  temper- 
ature in  their  houses.  A  man  must  have  more  than  Turkish 
stoicism,  or  Turkish  philosophy,  to  retain  for  any  length  of 
time  a  kindly  feeling  toward  his  fellow-man,  or  a  love  of  the 
genial  pleasures  of  life,  where  he  is  subject  to  continual  phys- 
ical discomfort,  or,  what  is  equally  as  bad,  reduced  to  a  state 
of  torpor,  like  a  caterpillar,  or  compelled  to  make  a  smoking 
chimney  of  his  mouth  and  nostrils,  like  a  Turk.  This  custom, 
however,  of  living  without  fires,  whether  from  taste  or  neces- 
sity, sometimes  has  an  effect  similar  to  that  of  the  five  straws 
a  day  upon  which  the  horse  was  fed  till  he  died — it  kills 
a  good  many  every  winter.  The  sufferings  of  the  poorer 
classes  in  Constantinople  are  very  great  when  the  winter  is 
unusually  severe  or  protracted ;  for,  unlike  the  wealthier 
classes,  who  can  cover  themselves  up  in  a  cloak,  and  sit  the 
season  through  in  a  state  of  lethargy,  they  are  exposed  to  all 
the  inclemencies  of  the  weather,  and  almost  without  food  or 
raiment.  These  facts  I  state  to  show  that,  although  people 
may  exist  for  months  without  fire,  and  sustain  life  on  bread 
and  cheese  and  an  occasional  scrap  of  meat,  and  become 
hardy  animals,  yet  to  be  frozen  or  starved  are  extremes  not 
calculated  to  prolong  life. 

The  tearing  down  of  a  portion  of  the  bridge  extending  from 
Galata  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  Golden  Horn,  and  certain 
repairs  thereto,  which  have  been  in  progress  for  some  days  past, 
have  given  me  some  idea  of  the  manner  in  which  work  is  done 
in  this  country.  I  expected  to  see  laziness  in  its  perfection,  and 
am  not  disappointed.  Several  hundred  workmen  are  engaged 
upon  this  extraordinary  job.  The  bridge  is  constructed  of 
wood,  and  a  very  creditable  piece  of  work  it  is — quite  as  good 
as  most  bridges  of  the  kind — built,  I  believe,  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  present  Sultan,  Abd-ul-Mejid,  by  native  work- 
men ;  but»I  have  forgotten  my  information  on  that  point.  It 
is  a  remarkable  sight,  this  tearing  down  and  putting  up  of  the 
bridge  by  men  in  turbans  and  loose  breeches — worth  sitting 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  125 

down  on  the  pile  of  lumber  near  the  toll-house  to  enjoy  for  an 
hour  or  so.  There  is  a  gang  not  far  oft'  engaged  in  pulling 
some  large  beams  out  of  the  water.  A  small  windlass  would 
pull  the  whole  raft  up  in  ten  minutes ;  but  they  work  by  hand 
in  preference,  or  because  their  ancestors  did  it.  Twenty  able- 
bodied  men  are  doing  the  labor  which  could  be  done  in  half 
the  time  by  two,  with  proper  machinery.  See  them  tug  at 
that  beam  !  Not  one  putting  a  fourth  of  his  weight  on  the 
rope.  It  moves  two  inches,  after  a  tremendous  amount  of 
yelling  and  tugging,  and  an  incessant  confusion  of  tongues. 
There  seems  to  be  no  master,  unless  the  sleepy  fellow  sitting 
on  the  bridge,  with  a  chibouck  in  his  mouth,  be  the  master,  of 
which  there  is  no  evidence.  Another  fit  of  tugging  and  yell- 
ing ensues ;  all  hands  now  give  up  work,  and  betake  them- 
selves to  their  respective  pipes — the  chattering  of  voices  never 
flagging  for  a  single  moment,  except  when  momentarily 
arrested  by  the  chibouck.  The  smoking  lasts  a  good  deal 
longer  than  the  other  part  of  the  work ;  but  it  is  over  at 
length,  and  they  go  at  the  beam  again  with  renewed  energy. 
Each  man  tugs  on  his  own  responsibility,  without  reference 
to  the  exertions  of  the  others,  and  only  at  such  long  intervals 
as  suit  his  peculiar  views  of  the  subject.  By  accident  a  gen- 
eral pull  takes  place,  in  the  course  of  time ;  and  the  beam 
comes  up  two  inches  further.  All  hands  are  again  exhausted, 
and  find,  by  reference  to  the  sun,  that  it  is  the  hour  of  prayer ; 
so  to  prayer  they  go — first,  however,  carefully  making  their 
ablutions.  It  is  a  picturesque  and  impressive  sight,  after  all, 
to  see  these  rude  barbarian^  in  the  midst  of  the  busy  turmoil 
of  life,  cast  ofF  all  thought  of  worldly  affairs,  and  bow  down 
their  heads  toward  Mecca,  the  sacred  city  of  their  Prophet. 
A-bsorbed  in  devotion,  they  seem  unconscious  of  all  the  petty 
cares  of  humanity,  and,  for  the  time  at  least,  are  elevated 
Above  the  mere  animal  man.  Even  Christians  might  profit 
by  their  earnest  sincerity.  Unmoved  by  the  prejudices  of 
other  races  ;  regardless  of  the  busy  world  around  them  ;  for- 
getting that  there  is  aught  upon  earth  to  claim  a  moment's 
time,  save  the  salvation  of  the  soul,  they  give  their  whole 
being  up  to  the  worship  of  God  and  the  Prophet.  Is  it  for 


126  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

vain  and  self-constituted  judges  to  say  that  these  people, 
taught  from  infancy  to  regard  their  peculiar  belief  as  the  only 
true  means  of  salvation,  shall  be  rewarded  for  their  sincerity 
by  everlasting  torture  ?  Oh,  ye  who  are  wrapt  iu  the  selfish- 
ness of  a  single  idea !  ye  who  bode  destruction  to  others  ! 
look  out  upon  the  broad  universe,  and  learn  that  there  are 
millions  of  human  hearts  as  sincere  and  devoted  as  yours,  and 
that  there  is  a  Divine  power,  great  and  good  and  merciful 
enough  to  save  all,  even  to  the  weakest  and  the  most  be- 
nighted. 

At  last  the  prayers  are  ended,  and  now  the  toils  of  the 
world  commence  again.  But  first,  a  general  smoke  is  neces- 
sary to  refresh  the  system  for  another  tug.  The  chiboucks 
being  emptied  in  due  time,  a  few  skirmishing  attempts  are 
made  at  the  log  again — mere  individual  trials  of  strength. 
The  whole  gang  finally  prepare  to  begin  work  in  earnest ;  but 
just  as  you  imagine  they  are  going  to  run  the  log  out  of  the 
water  with  a  general  rush,  a  casual  remark,  dropped  in  con- 
versation, arouses  the  attention  of  the  whole  party.  This  has 
to  be  discussed  in  all  its  bearings,  controverted,  illustrated  by 
anecdotes,  sustained  and  repeated,  till  the  subject  is  suffi- 
ciently exhausted  for  the  present;  and  then  the  ropes  are 
stretched,  the  shouting  commences,  and  the  beam,  after  many 
back-slides,  is  fairly  landed  on  terra  firrna.  You  feel  a  sense 
of  relief,  an  inward  thankfulness,  when  this  victory  of  human 
force  over  inert  matter  has  been  achieved  ;  and,  leaving  the 
turbaned  gang  to  smoke  the  pipe  of  triumph,  and  talk  over 
the  struggle  past  and  prepare  for*the  struggle  to  come,  walk 
on  in  search  of  further  novelties.  All  the  workmen,  those 
who  wield  the  adze,  the  hatchet,  and  the  saw,  the  master 
mechanics,  as  well  as  the  common  laborers,  are  so  much  like 
our  friends  of  the  beam,  in  their  various  branches  of  industry, 
that  it  is  unnecessary  to  call  your  attention  to  them  ;  and  we 
leave  them  now,  chatting,  smoking,  and  praying,  in  the  hope 
that,  by  the  threats  and  promises  of  his  Highness  Abd-ul-Me- 
jid,  and  the  spiritual  aid  of  the  Prophet,  the  bridge  will  bo 
completed  some  time  during  the  present  month — or  century. 

The  difficulty  of  introducing  any  thing  having  a  tendency 


CONSTANTINOPLE. 


127 


i 


A    BUSINESS   TRANSACTION. 


to  improve  the  condition  of  the  Turks,  except  where  the  effect 
is  immediate  and  palpable,  as  in  the  use  of  steamers,  is  exem- 
plified in  all  their  implements  of  husbandry,  which  are  of  the 
rudest  and  most  primitive  kind.  An  effort  was  made  some 
years  ago,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Sultan,  who  seems  to 
have  been  persuaded  into  the  experiment  rather  by  a  paltry 
ambition  to  be  considered  a  patron  of  public  improvement, 
than  by  any  real  desire  on  his  own  part  that  it  should  suc- 
ceed, to  get  up  a  model  farm,  so  that  all  who  had  eyes  to  see 
might  witness  the  superiority  of  a  judicious  system  of  agricul- 
ture. An  American  gentleman,  from  one  of  the  Southern 
States,  of  known  capacity  and  intelligence,  was  placed  at  the 
head  of  it,  and  great  promises  were  made,  should  the  result 
prove  satisfactory.  Plows  of  the  most  approved  pattern,  and 
all  the  best  implements  of  husbandry,  were  brought  over  from 
the  United  States  and  put  in  operation  ;  but,  notwithstanding 


128  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

the  most  flattering  progress,  it  failed  from  want  of  encourage 
merit.  The  result  was  not  sufficiently  magical  to  arouse  the 
Turks  from  their  habitual  lethargy ;  the  productions  of  the 
earth  did  not  spring  up  in  a  single  night,  like  some  of  their 
fabled  temples  ;  and  money  began  to  grow  scarce,  or,  at 
least,  was  found  to  be  more  satisfactorily  invested  in  purchas- 
ing good  faith  from  bad  ministers,  or  replenishing  the  harem 
with  fresh  supplies  of  fat  cattle  from  the  mountains  of  Cau- 
casus. The  director  and  his  family,  after  undergoing  all  the 
toils  and  privations  of  a  long  sojourn  among  a  besotted  and 
barbarous  people,  and  suffering  in  health  and  purse,  were 
finally  compelled  to  give  up  all  hope  of  success,  and  return  to 
their  native  land ;  where,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  they  are  by  this 
time  surrounded  by  the  comforts  of  home  and  the  blessings  of 
civilization. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A   VISIT    TO    THE    BAZAARS. 

IT  is  a  strange  life  here — half-civilized,  half-savage.  One 
lives  in  such  an  atmosphere  of  Orientalism  that  he  uncon- 
sciously becomes  Oriental  in  his  habits,  and  smokes  chiboucks 
and  drinks  muddy  coffee  as  a  matter  of  course.  If  it  were  not 
for  the  civilizing  influence  of  hotels,  I  believe  we  Frangi  should 
soon  be  Turks,  even  in  our  dress  and  the  luxury  of  laziness. 
No  traveler  considers  himself  completely  initiated  into  the 
mysteries  of  Oriental  life  till  he  has  suffered  scalding  and 
strangulation  in  a  Turkish  bath,  purchased  a  fez,  and  smoked 
himself  sick  at  a  narguilla.  When  he  has  done  all  this,  and 
learned  to  go  about  the  bazaars  alone,  and  say  Kats  grosh  ? 
or,  What  does  it  cost  ?  he  may  congratulate  himself  upon  hav- 
ing mastered  the  rudiments  of  Turkism.  If  he  can  double  up 
his  legs  and  squat  like  a  tailor,  it  will  be  all  the  better,  as  he 
will  be  invited  to  sit  on  the  floor  whenever  he  visits  a  native 
house.  Some  of  the  pashaws,  indeed,  are  getting  Frankified 
in  their  notions,  and  keep  two  or  three  chairs  for  their  guests ; 
but  this  is  an  exception  to  the  general  rule.  For  three  weeks 
I  have  labored  hard  to  surmount  these  difficulties,  and  now  I 
pride  myself  on  being  a  very  respectable  Turk — in  outward 
show  at  least,  for  I  should  be  sorry  to  say  any  thing  about 
morals.  I  have  been  thoroughly  boiled  out  of  my  skin  in  a 
public  bath ;  have  suffered  my  beard  to  grow  till  I  can  swear 
by  it ;  smoked  narguillas  till  I  came  within  an  ace  of  getting 
the  delirium  tremens ;  and  purchased  a  fez,  which  I  wear  two 
hours  every  night  before  going  to  bed,  in  the  hope  of  conquer- 
ing a  certain  bashfulness  which  yet  prevents  me  from  appear- 
ing with  it  in  public.  Sitting  cross-legged  on  the  floor  was 

F 


130  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

the  great  trouble  at  first ;  but  that  difficulty  I  have  also  sur 
mounted  by  hard  practice  and  some  risk  of  dislocating  my 
limbs,  which  required  an  immense  deal  of  twisting  and 
stretching  before  they  would  corne  into  the  proper  position  ; 
and  now  I  would  defy  any  Turk  in  Stamboul  to  squat  more 
gracefully.  In  the  matter  of  chiboucks,  great  caution  and 
judgment  are  necessary.  No  person  pretending  to  have  the 
slightest  claims  to  Orientalism  will  disgrace  himself  by  smok- 
ing with  a  glass  mouthpiece.  Amber  is  the  only  true  indi- 
cation of  quality.  None  but  the  hamil,  or  burden-carriers, 
smoke  glass.  This  fact  1  state  for  the  benefit  of  all  travelers 
who  have  an  ambition  to  be  truly  Turkish — the  glass  mouth- 
pieces being  so  dextrously  colored  that  it  requires  an  adept  to 
distinguish  them  from  amber.  When  a  person  pays  three 
dollars  for  a  very  pretty  one,  which  he  supposes  to  be  the 
purest  amber,  and,  after  discoursing  to  all  his  friends  upon 
its  superior  softness  and  delicacy  of  temperature,  is  quietly 
told  by  some  kind  resident,  whose  opinion  he  can  not  dispute, 
that  it  is  common  glass,  worth  about  twenty-five  cents,  he  has 
a  right  to  speak  feelingly  on  the  subject.  The  stems  must 
be  six  feet  long,  and  of  the  best  cherry.  Jasmine,  for  short 
smoking,  makes  an  admirable  stem,  and  rosewood  is  not  bad. 
All  these  can  be  had  and  bored  to  order  in  the  pipe  bazaars. 

The  perpetual  risk  of  life  and  limb  to  which  the  unwary 
traveler  is  subjected  in  rambling  about  the  streets  of  Con- 
stantinople may  be  regarded  as  another  test  of  Orientalism, 
I  consider  that  any  man  who  spends  three  weeks  here  and 
employs  his  time  usefully  in  lounging  about  the  bazaars  and 
streets  of  Stamboul,  and  hanging  around  the  quays  and  pub- 
lic bridges  of  the  Golden  Horn,  without  losing  an  eye,  suffer- 
ing dislocation  of  an  ankle,  or  complete  bodily  crushing  under 
a  bale  of  merchandise,  deserves  ever  after  to  be  regarded  as 
a  shrewd  and  accomplished  traveler.  Running  a  muck  among 
the  Malays  is  agreeable  pastime  compared  with  the  running 
of  gauntlets  through  the  streets  of  Galata  or  Stamboul.  Take 
as  an  example  a  morning  walk  from  the  Hotel  de  Byzant  to 
the  bazaars  on  the  other  side  of  th  i  bridge. 

Confident  in  your  ability  to  find  the  way  without  Carlo 


A  VISIT  TO  THE  BAZAARS. 


131 


THE   HAMIL. 


who  has  already  made  a  small  fortune  out  of  you ;  rather 
hoping  at  the  same  time  to  meet  with  an  adventure  which 
you  can  relate  on  your  return  without  a  witness,  you  sally 
forth,  stick  in  hand,  and  steer  your  way  through  the  grave- 
yard to  a  tower  on  the  left  with  a  green  top.  This  you  fix 
upon  as  a  sort  of  landmark.  So  far,  very  well.  Now  you 
enter  a  gateway  near  the  tower,  where  you  are  beset  by  a 
whole  legion  of  beggars.  There  is  a  general  clamor  for  alms 
— a  whining  and  beseeching  that  Italian  begging  in  all  its 
variety  never  attained.  Effendi !  EJfendi!  is  all  you  can 
understand ;  it  means  gentleman  ;  most  noble,  exalted,  and 
honorable  sir,  in  the  present  case.  Of  course  you  must  pay 
a  few  piasters  for  the  pleasure  of  heaving  yourself  called  Ef- 
fendi ;  it  sounds  so  Oriental,  and  makes  one  feel  so  Turkish. 
But  this  is  only  the  first  gang  ;  you  have  only  fought  your 


132  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

way  through  it  with  small  change  to  start  up  a  still  more 
determined  gang  a  little  below.  Whole  platoons  of  old  wo- 
men and  young,  ragged  boys  and  decrepit  men,  on  either  side 
of  the  narrow  street,  attack  you  with  Effendi !  Effendi !  and 
sublimest  Effendi,  ranging  from  the  most  dulcet  soprano  to 
the  most  importunate  falsetto.  You  walk  on,  under  the  con- 
viction that  it  would  be  impossible  to  relieve  all  this  misery.* 
Suddenly  a  voice  of  thrilling  remonstrance  reaches  your  ear  ; 
it  is  so  desperate  in  its  appeals,  so  irresistibly  imploring,  and 
seems  to  say  so  plainly,  For  God's  sake,  Effendi,  don't  see  a 
fellow-creature  starve ;  do  save  a  human  life  by  dropping 
half  a  piaster  here — just  what  would  buy  you  one  cigar  ; 
give  it  and  make  a  poor  wretch  happy  for  a  day — that  your 
conscience  smites  you,  and  you  feel  that  it  would  be  a  sin  to 
purchase  a  momentary  pleasure  with  what  would  give  a  day's 
relief  to  a  fellow-creature — so  down  goes  the  half  piaster. 
Alas,  this  is  only  a  drop  in  the  ocean ;  you  are  instantly  be- 
set by  the  whole  legion ;  the  purse  of  Fortunatus  would  be 
ineffectual  in  appeasing  the  voracity  of  these  poor  wretches  ; 
arms  are  outstretched  toward  you,  and  hands  thrown  up  in 
all  the  agonies  of  hunger  ;  and  the  gaunt,  leaden  faces  of  the 
aged  as  they  sit  mute  and  motionless  against  the  wall  haunt 
you,  and  appeal  to  you  with  the  terrible  eloquence  of  despair. 
What  can  you  do  ?  It  is  impossible  to  give  aid  to  all.  In 
the  utter  hopelessness  of  the  case,  you  rush  on,  thanking  God 
that  such  misery  does  not  exist  at  home.  Supposing  you  now 
to  have  reached  the  vicinity  of  the  wharves  in  Galata  with- 
out spraining  an  ankle  over  the  huge  round  stones  that  are 
designated  paving-stones,  it  is  here  that  the  difficulties  of 
locomotion  begin  in  earnest.  The  streets  are  not  more  than 
eight  or  ten  feet  wide,  and  every  possible  means  of  obstruc- 
tion seems  to  be  resorted  to  in  order  to  make  the  inconvenience 
still  greater.  Shop  stands  and  tables  that  work  on  hinges; 
sharp  pieces  of  wood  upon  which  are  hung  all  sorts  of  dan- 
gerous wares ;  boxes,  and  benches,  and  heaps  of  rubbish 
threaten  instant  destruction.  Huge  paving-stones,  with  con- 
ical tops,  smooth  and  slippery  with  the  slime  of  fish  and 
other  slimes,  compose  the  groundwork  of  these  thoroughfares, 


A  VISIT  TO  THE  BAZAARS.  132 

which  people  are  expected  to  walk  ;  and  not  only  peo- 
ple, but  horses,  mules,  asses,  and  sometimes  camels.  Now, 
walking  is  a  simple  operation  in  itself,  and  requires  no  great 
skill,  but,  coupled  with  these  slippery  stones  and  unexpected 
holes,  these  long  wooden  spikes,  shop-stands,  and  bales  of 
merchandise,  it  becomes  an  operation  of  great  intricacy,  and 
requires  much  study ;  it  is,  in  fact,  an  art ;  one  of  the  fine 
arts  of  Constantinople.  Many  an  unlucky  wight  has  been 
sacrificed  in  the  pursuit,  under  the  vain  impression  that 
ordinary  proficiency  would  answer.  You  are  now  supposed 
to  be  looking  up  at  a  Greek  capote,  quite  unconscious  of 
harm.  Guarda!  guarda!  yells  a  hoarse  voice;  it  is  the 
voice  of  a  hamil.  These  lusty  fellows,  that  you  see  trot- 
ting along  through  the  crowd,  four  at  each  end  of  a  long 
pole,  with  a  hogshead  slung  in  the  middle,  are  the  burden- 
carriers,  the  draymen  of  Starnboul  and  Galata,  who  carry 
hogsheads,  boxes,  stones,  and  burdens  of  all  kinds  on  their 
poles ;  each  pole  acting  as  a  powerful  battering-ram  on  the 
human  head.  Guarda  !  guarda  roars  the  liamil,  dexter- 
ously aiming  the  pole  at  the  corner  of  your  eye.  By  a  lucky 
instinct  you  start  and  dodge  it ;  that  time  he  has  missed  his 
aim.  Scarcely  have  you -escaped  this  danger  when  a  clat- 
tering of  hoofs  startles  you  again.  It  is  a  fine  horse,  mounted 
by  a  Turkish  officer.  You  admire  the  embroidery  on  the 
officer's  uniform,  while  he  coolly  endeavors  to  ride  over  you — 
it  would  be  so  amusing  to  see  a  Christian  under  the  horse's 
feet !  You  jump  across  the  street  at  a  single  bound,  flushed 
with  indignation,  but  before  you  can  say  Bosh  !  a  man  with  a 
heavy  burden  on  his-  back,  and  his  head  bowed  down  so  low 
that  he  can  only  see  six  inches  before  him,  runs  into  you,  de- 
priving you  effectually  of  all  powers  of  articulation  ;  without 
breath  a  man  can  not  even  swear  by  the  beard  of  the  Prophet. 
About  the  time  you  recover  from  the  effects  of  this  attack,  a 
mule  laden  with  kegs  of  water,  which  operate  as  outriggers 
on  each  side,  bears  down  upon  you  so  unexpectedly  that  you 
are  scraped  up  and  turned  around  by  the  main  force  of  head- 
way, and  precipitated  backward  over  a  door-sill  into  the  lap  of 
in  industrious  artisan,  who  is  at  that  moment  refreshing  him- 


134  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE'  EAST. 

self  with  a  narguilla  and  a  cup  of  coffee — both  of  which  as  a 
matter  of  course,  are  sacrificed.  Starting  out  anew,  as  soon 
as  you  have  made  suitable  reparation  for  the  damage,  you 
work  your  way  through  the  crowd  very  much  as  an  eel 
might  be  supposed  to  wind  through  a  stubble-field ;  and,  by 
dint  of  perseverance  an'd  renewed  caution,  you  eventually 
reach  the  bridge.  Here  you  stop  to  draw  a  long  breath, 
wipe  the  perspiration  off"  your  forehead,  and  enjoy  the  view. 
It  is  refreshing  and  Oriental,  the  whole  thing — just  like  the 
beautiful  engravings  in  the  annuals,  only  a  good  deal  larger 
and  better  done.  There  are  the  same  Turks  with  turbans 
on,  the  flowing  robes  and  long  beards,  .and  peaked  slippers ; 
the  Persians  with  their  tall  shaggy  hats,  the  Greeks  and  Al- 
banians in  petticoats,  the  palefaced  Armenians,  the  bearded 
and  turbaned  Je\vs,  the  dusky  Egyptian  slaves — just  as  you 
have  seen  them  in  prints  of  the  bridge  a  thousand  times,  all 
walking  about  like  any  other  live  people.  But,  on  second 
thought,  the  whole  scene  is  a  good  deal  better  than  any  thing 
in  the  line  of  art.  It  is  absolutely  splendid,  you  exclaim  un- 
consciously ;  by  Jove,  sir,  it  is  gorgeous  !  "What  a  magnifi- 
cent effect  these  mosques  and  minarets  of  Stamboul  have — 
the  domes  looming  up  in  the  golden  haze  of  the  morning, 
high  above  the  house-tops  ;  the  minarets  piercing  the  heavens, 
clear  and  white,  like  gigantic  ornamented  needles  wrought 
out  of  pure  ivory ;  the  quays  lined  with  strangely-shaped 
houses,  and  forests  of  masts  rising  from  the  flashing  waters 
of  the  harbor,  with  bright  colors  flaunting  in  the  air ;  the 
steamers  from  Therapia  and  Bayukdere  sweeping  in  gallantly, 
leaving  long  trails  of  smoke  behind  them  ;  innumerable  craft 
with  flowing  canvas,  from  the  tiny  felucca  to  the  towering 
merchantman  of  the  Black  Sea,  gliding  about  over  the  glorious 
Bosphorus  ;  and  far  and  near  the  very  waters  are  alive  with 
caiques,  the  most  graceful  and  Oriental  of  little  boats,  with, 
their  smooth  sides  and  pointed  bows,  darting  hither  and  thither 
with  the  velocity  of  birds,  skimming  over  the  lucid  deep  as 
lightly  as  the  swallows  that  sport  around  them — a  picture  of 
Oriental  life  that  art  has  never  attained.  Half  the  population 
of  Stamboul  seem  to  be  afloat ;  turbans  of  every  color,  brill- 


A  VISIT  TO  THE  BAZAARS.  135 

iant  robes,  sashes,  and  uniforms  glitter  in  the  sunbeams ; 
the  oars  of  the  caiques  flashing  as  if  tipped  with  silver,  and 
the  busy  hum  of  life  rising  over  all  with  a  mellow  cheerful- 
ness. Along  over  the  bridge,  from  end  to  end,  flows  another 
tide  of  life — the  everlasting  throng  that  crowd  it  from  the 
dawn  of  morning  to  the  darkness  of  night,  and  seem  never 
to  be  done ;  the  Frank  merchants  from  Pera  and  Galata,  the 
Armenians  from  the  bazaars  of  Stamboul,  the  Turks,  Jews, 
and  Copts,  the  Greeks,  the  Italians,  the  French,  the  English 
— all  the  nations  of  the  globe  appear  to  be  passing  over  the 
bridge,  speaking  all  the  languages  that  can  distort  the  tongue 
of  man,  wearing  all  the  varieties  of  costume  that  can  disfigure 
or  give  dignity  to  the  form,  and  engaged  in  all  the  different 
pursuits  that  occupy  the  human  brain  ;  the  very  vision, 
brought  into  glorious  reality,  that  has  haunted  you  from 
early  youth  in  your  dreams  of  the  East.  A  voluptuous  soft- 
ness, an  odor  of  strange  incenses  fills  the  glowing  atmosphere, 
a  harmony  of  lights  and  shadows  and  vistas  of  golden  haze 
and  soft  purple  distances,  that  never  so  charmed  the  senses 
before,  save  in  the  earliest  glimpses  of  the  beautiful,  when 
the  heart  was  warm  with  youth  and  the  spirit  looked  up  in 
its  freshness  through  the  realms  of  fancy.  Now  turn  inward 
the  stream  of  thought,  and  upon  its  surface  arise  a  thousand 
happy  memories  of  the  past,  gliding  back  with  it  as  it  flows, 
till  the  soul  wanders  again  in  mystic  worlds,  where  dwell  in- 
habitants with  crowns  of  diamonds  and  robes  of  precious  fab- 
rics worked  in  gold,  and  white  wands;  and  fairy  castles  are 
seen,  and  mountains  of  amber  and  pearl  rise  up  and  change 
into  strange  forms  and  vanish,  as  the  clouds  of  a  summer's 
eve.  But  this  is  all  romance,  aroused  by  outward  show. 
There  is  as  much  sad  reality  in  the  City  of  the  Sultan  as  any 
where  else — a  good  deal  more  than  you  are  prepared  for  after 
reading  Miss  Pardoe  or  Lady  Montague.  Don't  give  way  to 
any  weakness  of  this  kind  any  more  if  you  can  help  it.  It 
makes  one  feel  miserable  when  he  wakes  up — just  like  a  nice 
mint-julep  about  bed-time  and  a  bad  headache  the  nexi 
morning. 

Close  by  the  bridge  is  a  boat  station,  where  some  hundreds 


136  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

of  caiques  are  always  in  readiness  to  take  passengers.  For  a 
quarter  of  a  cent  you  can  walk  over  on  the  bridge  ;  but  let  us 
suppose  that  you  have  never  been  in  a  caique,  and  are  tempted 
by  its  swallow-like  bows,  as  also  by  the  solicitations  of  a  sturdy 
fellow,  turbaned  and  breeched  in  genuine  Oriental  style,  who 
beckons  you  to  jump  in.  A  very  pretty  one  is  that,  of  which 
he  appears  to  be  the  chief  ornament.  It  is  a  perfect  little 
fairy  boat,  trim  and  elegant  in  form,  with  a  very  sharp  bow, 
low  in  the  water,  and  raking  up  at  the  stern,  which  is  also 
sharp ;  smooth  as  glass  outside,  and  decorated  inside  with 
carving  in  the  true  Turkish  style  ;  a  beautiful  model  for  swift- 
ness and  the  very  perfection  of  .gracefulness.  You  jump  in. 
Mashalla  !  what  a  dainty  little  duck  of  a  thing  it  is  !  An 
inch  more  of  headway  would  have  tilted  you  overboard. 
Down  you  plump  yourself  on  the  carpet  that  covers  the  bot- 
tom and  hold  on  nervously  to  the  gunwales,  your  head  peep- 
ing up  and  your  eyes  agog  at  all  the  strange  'faces  around  you, 
and  the  violent  motions  of  the  boatmen.  Caiques  are  shearing 
in  and  skimming  out  all  around.  Guarda!  guarda!  is  bawl- 
ed in  your  ears,  till,  like  the  cry  of  wolf,  it  ceases  to  attract  no- 
tice ;  and  just  then  the  long  sharp  bow  of  a  rival  caique,  coming 
sxiddenly  up,  grazes  your  hand  and  bears  off  triumphantly  with 
the  skin  of  your  knuckles.  Guarda!  guarda!  again.  This 
time  you  dodge  ;  no  damage  is  done.  Soon  you  are  fairly  out 
of  the  thickest  part  of  the  crowd.  Away  darts  the  caique, 
scarcely  throwing  a  ripple  from  her  bows ;  turbans,  fezzes,  white 
robes,  red  cloaks  and  blue,  flit  by  in  other  caiques  ;  away  you 
go !  sweeping  with  a  snake-like  trail  through  a  mist  of 
confusing  sights  and  din  of  sounds,  darting  in  and  out  under 
the  dark  arches  of  the  bridge,  wheeled  miraculously  under 
chain  cables  and  outstretched  ropes,  under  the  sterns  of  huge 
bhips,  across  the  bows  of  foaming  barges,  through  whole  fleets 
of  racing  small  craft,  till  you  are  suddenly  whirled  around  as 
upon  a  pivot  and  backed  dexterously  into  the  wharf  at  Stam- 
boul,  where  the  sum  of  two  cents,  deposited  upon  the  bottom 
of  the  caique,  affords  the  boatman  an  idea  of  your  exalted 
rank  in  society.  From  this  point  of  debarkation  it  is  a  perfect 
Cabel  till  you  can  extricate  yourself  from  the  crowd.  Boat- 


A  VISIT  TO  THE  BAZAARS.  137 

mui  are  bawling  madly  for  passengers,  the  hamil  arc  running 
to  and  fro  with  heavy  burdens,  shouting  guarda  !  as  a  matter 
of  habit ;  crowds  of  bare-legged  laborers  are  tugging  at  big 
timbers,  and  deafening  one  another  with  loud  conversation ; 
Greek  sailors,  piratical-looking  Italians,  Russian,  French,  and 
English  men-of-war  crews  are  lounging  about  the  cafes,  smok- 
ing, drinking,  and  quarreling ;  Turks  and  Arabs  are  bowing 
down  to  Mecca  in  the  midst  of  the  confusion ;  Jewish  mer- 
chants are  bartering  their  wares  ;  native  peddlers  are  crying 
the  merits  of  their  glittering  trinkets ;  bakers  are  shouting 
from  their  bread  stands ;  hucksters  from  their  tables  of  figs, 
cheese,  and  sausages  ;  fruiterers  from  out  of  baskets  of  grapes  ; 
coffee-carrierB  running  about  madly  with  large  tin  urns,  heat- 
ed by  red-hot  coals,  shrieking  the  charms  of  muddy  coffee ; 
grave  Persians  and  pale  Armenians  gliding  silently  and  with 
ghostly  solemnity  through  the  crowd — all  touched,  you  would 
say,  on  some  point — a  little  cracked  about  the  affairs  of  life, 
just  like  the  rest  of  us. 

_At  last,  after  getting  lost  a  dozen  times  in  the  narrow 
streets,  you  enter  a  dark  arched  way,  much  as  you  would 
enter  a  cavern,  with  a  lurking  suspicion  of  an  attack  from  a 
horde  of  banditti.  This  is  the  beginning  of  the  famous  bazaars 
of  Stamboul.  "What  a  strange  place  it  is,  and  how  utterly  im- 
possible to  give  any  adequate  description  of  it  on  paper  !  All 
the  pages  that  have  ever  been  written  on  the  subject  fail  to 
give  a  correct  notion  of  these  bazaars  ;  either  too  much  is  ex- 
pected or  too  little — any  thing  but  the  strange  reality.  A 
single  glance  at  such  a  scene  is  worth  all  the  pictures  that 
pen  or  pencil  has  ever  drawn  ;  it  dwells  forever  in  the  mem- 
ory, with  the  vividness  of  a  first  impression  ;  it  is  beyond  the 
ornament  of  language  or  the  glowing  colors  of  art ;  it  is  fixed 
indelibly  upon  the  brain,  and  rises  unbidden  before  the  eye 
throughout  the  future,  in  all  its  wondrous  variety  of  lights, 
shadows,  costumes,  and  glittering  wares ;  in  every  thought 
of  the  glorious  East  it  is  the  embodiment  of  the  East  itself. 
It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  there  is  any  thing 
very  magnificent  about  these  bazaars — any  thing  to  compete 
in  splendor  with  the  shops  of  the  Palais  Royal  or  the  Arcades 


138 


A  CRUSADE  IN  THE   EAST. 


of  Paris — it  is  their  peculiar  novelty,  the  serni-barbarous  pro- 
fusion of  rich  colors  displayed  at  every  point  ;  the  theatrical 
effect  of  the  costumes  and  manners  ;  the  confusion  of  strange 
languages ;  the  scents  of  musk  and  attar  of  roses  that  flit 
through  the  air,  mingled  with  odd  currents  of  smoke  from  the 
chiboucks  and  narguillas  ;  the  streams  of  light  pouring  down 
through  holes  in  the  roof  relieving  the  darkness ;  the  endless 
variety  of  Oriental  curiosities ;  these  it  is  that  render  the  ba- 
zaars unique  and  wonderful,  not  to  be  compared  to  any  thing 
except  other  bazaars,  of  which  there  are  few  in  the  East 
so  interesting  as  those  «of  Stamboul. 

We  must  come  over  again  and  look  more  into  the  details. 
At  present  we  have  only  time  to  make  a  small  purchase,  as  a 
sort  of  evidence  to  our  friends  at  the  Byzant  that  this  tour  has 
really  been  achieved  before  breakfast.  It  is  a  pretty  trifle, 
an  embroidered  something  manufactured  of  silk,  which  will 
be  very  acceptable  to  a  certain  fair  person — a  nice  little 
present  from  the  bazaars  of  Stamboul. 


SHOP   KEEPERS. 


A  grave  old  man,  with  a  tremendous  turban  on  his  head, 
and  a  long  chibouk  in  his  mouth,  sits  bundled  up  among  his 


A  VISIT  TO  THE  BAZAARS.  139 

precious  fabrics,  totally  indifferent  to  the  matter  of  customers  . 
in  fact  rather  averse  to  any  interruption,  for  he  happens  tc 
be  listening  to  a  story  about  some  ghouls  and  genii,  which  a 
neighbor  is  relating  at  the  time.  In  the  next  bazaar  every 
body  seems  to  be  asleep  ;  though  they  are  all  bright  enough 
when  they  hear  the  voice  of  a  traveling  gentleman ;  so  bright 
indeed,  that  in  a  few  moments  half  a  dozen  sharp-witted 
youths  are  after  you  from  the  immediate  vicinity,  telling  you 
to  "Come  dis  way;  no  good  bazaar  dat ;  bess  bazaar  dis 
way  ;  plenty  nice  ting  sheep."  This  eventually  arouses  the 
old  gentleman,  and  he  looks  up,  with  a  patronizing  air  ;  per- 
haps he  might  be  prevailed  upon  to  sell  you  something. 
You  are  determined  not  to  trust  yourself  to  the  sharp-witted 
fellows  who  are  pulling  at  your  elbow.  The  indifference  of 
the  venerable  gentleman  piques  you  ;  besides  you  know  he 
must  be  honest. — "  Kats  grosh?"  you  ask,  taking  up  the  art- 
icle carelessly.  Something  in  the  shape  of  an  answer  is  grunt- 
ed by  the  old  man ;  of  course  you  can't  have  the  faintest  idea 
of  the  meaning,  the  language  being  Turkish,  or  Arabic,  or 
some  other  barbarous  compound  of  guttural  sounds.  "  Kats 
grosh?"  you  say  again,  a  little  louder.  The  old  man  takes 
a  puff  of  his  chibouck,  and  raises  up  ten  fingers,  and  shakes 
them  at  you  four  times.  It  must  be  forty  piasters,  or  forty 
dollars.  You  draw  out  a  piaster,  and  demand  in  plain  En- 
glish if  he  means  to  say  that  it  requires  forty  of  these  to  pur- 
chase the  article  ?  The  old  gentleman  nods  assent.  Two 
dollars  seems  high  for  such  a  trifle.  You  shake  your  ten 
fingers  at  him  three  times,  which  means  thirty  piasters. 
"J3psh!"  says  the  merchant,  with  a  contemptuous  toss  of 
the  head,  and  he  coolly  resumes  his  chibouck.  As  you  turn  to 
walk  off  he  beckons  you  back,  takes  up  the  silk,  points  out 
all  its  beauties,  grows  eloquent  upon  its  peculiar  merits,  en- 
larges in  the  most  barbarous  tissue  of  exclamations  upon  its 
cost,  all  of  which  you  have  to  suppose,  not  understanding  a 
single  word  he  says.  Eventually  he  concludes  by  shaking  his 
ten  fingers  at  you  three  times  and  five  fingers  once,  signifying 
thirty-five.  You  shake  back  at  him  three  fingers  Jess,  upon 
which  you  are  determined  to  stand.  No,  it  will  not  do  ;  the 


140  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

old  Turk  stands  on  two,  and  the  purchase  can't  be  made  for 
the  sixteenth  part  of  a  little  finger  less.  Off  you  start  again, 
and  this  time  you  don't  turn  to  look  back.  "Hallo!  come 
back  here!"  shouts  the  old  man,  as  plainly  as  possible  in 
Turkish ;  and  now  he  goes  through  an  imaginary  process  of 
cutting  his  fore-finger  in  two.  No,  sir,  you  exclaim ;  not  the 
first  knuckle  of  a  fore-finger  more  !  The  half  of  the  fore-finger 
is  resigned  at  last !  the  article  is  yours  ;  and  with  a  proud  con- 
sciousness of  shrewdness  and  self-dependence,  you  pocket  it, 
and  set  out  for  Pera.  Experience  aids  you  greatly  this  time 
in  wending  your  way  through  the  narrow  streets  ;  a  few  knocks 
on  the  head  and  the  loss  of  a  little  bark  from  the  knee  are 
trifles  not  to  be  thought  of.  By  patience,  perseverance,  and  the 
sweet  oil  of  a  good  temper,  you  at  length  reach  the  Hotel  de 
Byzant.  Breakfast  has  just  commenced,  the  purchase  is  duly 
exhibited,  and  extravagantly  admired  by  the  ladies ;  the  price 
is  miraculously  low  ;  it  must  have  required  extraordinary 
jewing  to  get  it  so  cheap.  It  is  passed  round  for  the  final 
judgment  of  a  grave  gentleman  who  understands  these  things 
thoroughly.  Heavens !  what  a  grim  smile  of  pity  and  con- 
tempt ;  your  beautiful  specimen  of  Turkish  skill  is  worth  j  ust 
ten  piasters,  and  has  been  manufactured  in  Paris,  where  such 
things  can  be  bought  for  little  or  nothing  ! 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

TURKISH    BEAUTIES. 

• 

THERE  has  been  such  a  halo  of  romance  thrown  around  the 
•whole  East  by  a  certain  class  of  writers  who  see  every  thing 
through  highly-colored  spectacles,  with  bubbles  in  the  centre, 
that  the  idea  of  a  Harem  is  enough  to  set  one  off  in  ecstasies. 
Who  is  there  with  a  spark  of  enthusiasm  that  can  approach 
Constantinople  for  the  first  time  without  a  palpitating  heart 
and  a  thrilling  anticipation  of  something  extraordinary,  some- 
thing to  lift  up  the  soul  above  this  earth  to  a  realm  of  houris  ? 
The  essence  of  all  that  one  has  ever  read  on  the  subject  comes 
bubbling  up  through  the  memory,  and  gives  rise  to  the  most 
visionary  aspirations  for  the  beautiful.  All  the  fervid  imagery 
of  Lalla  Rookh ;  the  fascinating  splendor  of  Anastasius  ;  the 
glowing  eloquence  of  Eothen,  fill  the  mind  somehow  or  other 
with  extraordinary  anticipations  ;  a  glimmering  of  something 
unearthly  ;  a  foreshadowing  of  Paradise.  The  Harem  becomes 
a  chief  ornament  in  this  Paradise,  and  the  perfumes  of  flow- 
ers, and  the  cooling  spray  of  fountains,  and  all  the  witchery 
of  beauty  and  innocence  reclining  on  soft  Persian  rugs,  invol- 
untary crowd  upon  the  senses.  Every  yashmack  is  supposed 
to  cover  the  features  of  a  Gulbeyez  or  a  Dudu  ;  every  grated 
window  to  shed  light  upon  an  inner  world  of  beauty,  the 
living  and  breathing  realization  of  that  voluptuous  picture 
in  Don  Juan,  of  the  sleeping  beaiities  of  the  Harem,  where 
innocent  maidens  dream  of  apples,  and  bees,  and  butterflies, 
and  such  things.  Never  was  an  unfortunate  admirer  of  the 
sex  worked  up  to  such  a  pitch  of  enthusiastic  expectation 
as  your  friend  of  the  present  writing.  It  was  a  purely  Pla- 
tonic devotion  to  beauty,  of  course.  The  first  thought  upon 


142  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

touching  the  romantic  soil  of  Stamboul  was  of  yashmacks, 
and  dark  flashing  eyes,  and  forms  of  angelic  contour.  For 
a  while  I  thought  seriously  of  shutting  my  eyes  the  very 
first  petticoat  I  should  descry  fluttering  in  the  breeze  ;  but 
eyes  are  indispensable  where  the  liamil  are  continually  bring- 
ing their  battering  rams  to  bear  on  one's  head.  At  last  a 
bevy  of  chattering  damsels  loomed  up  in  the  distance  bearing 
down  toward  me.  Good  gracious,  what  voices  !  The  croak- 
ing of  ravens  would  have  been  music  to  the  coarse  masculine 
sounds  that  distracted  my  ear.  It  was  the  most  barbarous 
gobbling  of  gutturals  I  have  ever  heard.  Black  eyes  there 
were,  to  be  sure,  black  enough  all  round,  even  underneath ; 
which  was  rather  a  dirty  sort  of  blackness.  The  yashmacks, 
dropped  accidentally,  as  they  generally  do  when  the  observer 
is  a  Frank,  and  there  are  no  Turks  near.  Every  vestige  of 
enchantment  vanished  in  a  moment.  There  was  not  a  single 
passable  face  in  the  crowd.  The  features  were  coarse  and 
sensual ;  the  teeth  disgustingly  dark  ;  the  costume  slovenly 
and  unbecoming.  As  if  conscience-smitten,  after  having  ex- 
posed so  much  beauty  to  infidel  eyes,  they  hastily  drew  the 
covering  over  their  mouths,  leaving  the  upper  part  of  the  face 
partially  visible,  and  altogether  denuding  the  breast.  After 
they  had  passed  I  turned  to  enjoy  a  different  view,  in  the  faint 
hope  of  discovering  some  compensating  attraction.  The  case 
was  now  still  worse.  As  they  drew  up  their  loose  cloaks,  and 
gathered  around  them  sundry  highly-colored  and  tawdry  rags 
of  drapery,  the  names  of  which  it  is  impossible  to  remember, 
their  bare  legs  glistened  underneath,  buried  over  the  ankle  in 
yellow  slip-shod  boots  and  slippers ;  and  they  waddled  over 
the  rough  stones  very  much  like  a  parcel  of  ducks,  making 
such  awkward  attempts  at  progress  that  it  was  quite  distress- 
ing to  see  them.  Surely  the  Turkish  boots  for  females  must 
have  been  devised  by  some  clever  fellow,  who  had  in  view 
the  impossibility  of  their  running  away  in  them. 

It  would  be  unfair,  perhaps,  to  judge  of  the  whole  sex  from 
these  specimens ;  so*  I  reserved  my  final  judgment  until  I 
should  see  something  more  of  Turkish  beauty.  Since  then  I 
have  seen  every  variety  that  can  be  seen  beyond  the  sacred 


TURKISH  BEAUTIES. 


143 


precincts  of  the  Harem,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  and 
I  must  confess  that  I  have  seen  very  little  to  change  my  orig- 
inal impression.  What  there  may  be  concealed  in  cages  and 
fed  on  cakes  and  rose  water,  and  never  suffered  to  be  rudely 
kissed  by  the  air  that  common  mortals  breathe,  I  do  not 
know  from  personal  experience,  having  never  been  in  the 
domestic  circle  of  a  Turk  in  my  life,  when  the  ladies  were 
present;  nor  do  I  anticipate  .that  pleasure  soon,  unless  my 
friend,  Abd-ul-Mejid,  should  take  it  into  his  head  to  invite 
me  to  a  family  tea-party,  which  is  not  likely.  Let  it  not  be 
supposed,  however,  that  I  entertain  any  hostile  feeling  toward 
the  ladies  of  Constantinople.  There  is  occasionally  a  pretty 
face  to  be  seen,  a  young,  round,  doll-baby  thing,  that  is  very 
much  admired  by  the  Turks ;  nice  plump  little  toys,  with 
black  eyebrows  and  thick  lashes,  soft  peachy  cheeks,  and 
the  softest  possible  expression.  I  saw  one  on  the  bridge  near 
Galata  that  quite  struck  a  ten- 
derness through  me.  She  was 
about  fifteen,  and  as  prettily  cos- 
tumed as  a  Turkish  lady  can  be 
without  a  change  of  fashion. 
Dropping  the  white  vail  that 
covered  her  mouth  as  I  passed, 
she  gave  me  a  good  opportunity 
of  admiring  her  bewitching  feat- 
ures, and  to  be  candid,  they  were 
very  bewitching.  The  form  of 
her  face  was  round,  like  a  full 
moon ;  her  complexion  of  the 
purest  transparency,  just  tinged 
with  the  roseate  hue  of  health ; 
her  nose  small  arid  round,  mak- 
ing a  very  beautiful  natural  di- 
vision between  her  cheeks  ;  her  eyes — but  here  was  the  kill- 
ing attraction — they  were  so  large  and  wide  open,  so  deeply, 
beautifully  black,  so  gazelle-like  in  their  innocence  of  expres- 
sion, or  lack  of  expression  ;  so  indicative  of  a  repose  of  soul,  or 
unconsciousness  of  soul  ;  so  hedged  around  with  black  lashes 


TURKISH   BEAUTY. 


144  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

and  eyebrows,  or  black  paint,  that  made  the  very  darkness 
there  more  beautiful  than  light  elsewhere  ;  so  liquid  with  nat- 
ural tear-drops,  or  the  glare  of  the  sun  ;  these,  these  it  was  that 
brought  on  the  tenderness ;  these,  and  the  lips  which  were 
parted  with  a  smile  of  triumph,  and  looked  as  if  they  had  just 
been  kissed  by  the  breath  of  a  frosty  morning,  or  bathed  in  twi- 
light dews,  or  sweetened  with  a  stick  of  candy,  which  she  hap- 
pened to  be  sucking  at  the  moment ;  and  her  form  !  it  was  so 
round  and  soft,  and  shook  so  like  jelly  at  every  step !  But  it 
is  entirely  useless  to  undertake  a  description  of  her  undulating 
walk :  it  was  the  very  poetry  of  motion  ;  rolling  in  her  yellow, 
boots  as  gracefully  as  ever  rolled  a  Dutch  galliot  in  the  trades. 
Mashalla !  I  saw  no  more  that  day. 

The  Armenian  women  are  very  much  superior  in  personal 
beauty  to  any  I  have  seen  in  Constantinople  ;  indeed,  to  any 
of  the  Oriental  castes,  not  excepting  the  far-famed  Circassians. 
The  best  specimens  of  the  latter  that  I  had  the  fortune  to  see 
were  gross  and  expressionless  in  feature,  and  without  that 
compactness  and  elasticity  of  form  which  the  more  civilized 
world  has  assumed  to  be  essential  in  female  beauty.  A  cer- 
tain obesity,  very  attractive  to  semi-barbarous  people,  is  cul- 
tivated to  perfection  in  the  Circassians,  and  the  most  highly 
admired  seemed  to  be  those  who  bear  the  greatest  resemblance 
to  a  balloon,  and  who  are  least  capable  of  exercising  the 
powers  of  locomotion.  The  Armenians,  however,  are  tall  and 
graceful,  and  of  much  greater  delicacy  of  feature,  and  in  form 
they  approximate  more  nearly  than  any  I  have  seen  to  what 
has  been  assumed  by  common  consent  as  the  standard  of  per- 
fection. I  saw  many  in  my  rambles  about  the  heights  of 
Chamlula  who  were  really  fine  looking  women ;  their  dark 
hair  twisted  loosely  under  their  head-dress  ;  their  complexion 
of  the  most  delicate  texture ;  their  eyes  bright  and  not  alto- 
gether expressionless,  fringed  with  long  black  lashes  ;  and  their 
forms  showing  to  advantage  in  a  costume  resembling  what 
certain  of  the  fair  sex  at  home  have  attempted  to  force  into 
fashion  in  our  matter-of-fact  part  of  the  world.  And  here,  by 
way  of  parenthesis,  let  me  hope  that,  should  that  costume 
prevail,  it  will  never  be  followed  by  any  attempt  to  introduce 


TURKISH  BEAUTIES.  145 

other  Oriental  fashions,  such  as  smoking  the  chibouck  and 
sharing  in  domestic  circles  the  same  husband. 

The  life  of  these  inmates  of  the  Harem  has  been  delineated 
by  writers  who  have  had  access  to  their  society ;  but  it  has 
been  done  in  such  a  way  as  to  throw  a  halo  of  romance  around 
them  which  has  no  foundation  in  reality.  I  have  conversed 
with  many  intelligent  Frank  residents  of  Constantinople  on 
the  subject,  arid  have  been  assured  that  these  accounts  of  the 
innocent  and  luxurious  seclusion  in  which  they  spend  their 
lives  are  in  the  main  a  tissue  of  absurdities,  gotten  up  by 
enthusiastic  authors  for  the  purpose  of  making  readable  books. 
Such  books  are  sought  with  avidity,  where  the  plain  truth 
would  make  no  impression.  People  are  determined  to  feed 
the  imagination  upon  something,  and  those  who  furnish  them 
with  the  material  are  naturally  disposed  to  make  it  as  palat- 
able as  possible.  The  fact  is,  life  in  the  Harem  is  one  of 
absolute  servitude  and  disgusting  sensuality.  Few,  even  in 
the  highest  ranks,  understand  how  to  read  and  write,  and 
their  conversation  is  only  trifling  inanity.  They  are  purchased 
as  slaves,  treated  as  slaves,  and  valued  according  to  their 
capacity  to  reach  the  most  approved  standard  of  degradation. 
Encouraged  in  all  that  is  revolting  to  the  better  feeling  of 
man's  nature,  is  it  to  be  wondered  that  they  do  not  occupy  the 
position  of  companions.  It  may  be  set  down  as  an  uxiorrr, 
demonstrated  by  all  past  experience,  that  in  no  country  where 
the  position  of  woman  is  so  utterly  degraded  can  a  people 
ever  attain  to  a  more  exalted  rank  than  that  of  a  slavish  and 
semi-barbarous  nation.  Abd-ul-Mejid  may  build  fugates, 
encourage  steam  navigation  and  cotton  factories,  patronize 
model  farms,  surround  his  court  with  all  the  enlightening 
influences  of  foreign  diplomacy ;  listen  to  disinterested  plans 
for  increasing  the  power  and  prosperity  of  the  Turkish  people ;' 
but  until  he  learns  the  great  secret  that  women  must  be  com- 
panions, and  not  mere  toys,  his  efforts,  or  the  efforts  of  others, 
will  be  in  vain ;  and  the  mass  of  the  Turks  will  remain  as 
they  have  ever  been,  an  ignorant  and  slavish  people. 

It  has  been  my  fortune  to  travel  in  many  foreign  lands, 
and  to  mingle  with  many  strange  people  as  a  spectator  of 

G 


146  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

passing  events  ;  and  now,  after  years  of  wandering  in  almost 
every  clime,  I  turn  from  the  sad  contemplation  of  their  social 
condition  with  a  grateful  heart  to  our  own  free  and  happy 
country ;  where,  amid  all  the  turmoils  of  political  strife,  all 
the  asperities  of  opinion  upon  matters  of  local  import,  all  the 
differences  of  position  that  arise  from  the  natural  differences 
of  our  organization,  there  is  a  purity  of  sentiment  in  social 
life  that  has  never  obtained  in  any  other  country.  It  is  re- 
freshing, after  inhaling  the  polluted  atmosphere  of  the  prin- 
cipal cities  of  Europe,  to  look  back  upon  our  own  happy 
homes  and  firesides,  and  draw  health,  and  vigor,  and  inspira- 
tion from  a  contemplation  of  the  exalted  condition  of  woman 
in  America — subject  to  no  restraints  but  the  dictates  of  vir- 
tue, free  in  the  exercise  of  all  the  rights  that  are  claimed  by 
the  best  and  purest  of  the  sex ;  respected  because  they  com- 
mand respect ;  beloved  because  they  are  womanly  ;  admired 
because  they  are  too  modest  to  demand  admiration.  It  is  not 
of  the  giddy  and  the  thoughtless,  who  parade  their  jeweled 
charms  in  the  arena  of  fashion  ;  not  of  the  brawlers  in  pub- 
lic, who  seek  to  overturn  the  whole  fabric  of  society ;  not  of 
them  that  are  given  to  unseemly  display,  either  of  thought  or 
person,  that  I  would  speak ;  but  of  the  chaste  keepers  of 
home ;  of  the  gentle  and  the  sympathizing,  who  rejoice  with 
them  that  do  rejoice,  and  weep  with  them  that  weep  ;  these 
are  the  women  of  America,  who,  unknown  to  fame,  are  es- 
teemed the  highest ;  who,  unadorned,  are  adorned  the  most. 
During  my  rambles  about  Constantinople  and  the  suburbs, 
my  attention  was  frequently  attracted  by  the  strange  and  di- 
lapidated appearance  of  the  Mohammedan  burial-grounds. 
Much  of  the  beautiful  effect  of  the  view  from  the  Bosphorus 
arises  from  the  groves  of  tall  green  cypress  that  mingle  their 
foliage  with  the  mosques  and  minarets,  and  stand  out  in  bold 
relief  on  every  hill-side.  Wherever  they  cover  any  consider- 
able extent  of  ground,  it  is  to  afford  shade  and  protection  to 
a  public  cemetery.  The  largest,  perhaps,  of  all  the  Moham- 
medan burial-grounds  is  that  near  Scutari,  on  the  Asiatic 
side,  which  extends  over  a  distance  of  three  miles  along  the 
road.  It  is  beautifully  shaded  by  a  thick  forest  of  cypress, 


TURKISH  BEAUTIES.  147 

and  forms,  in  the  summer  time,  a  favorite  retreat  for  the  idle 
and  gossiping,  who  go  over  in  great  numbers  from  the  city 
every  afternoon.  Here  may  be  seen,  in  fine  weather,  groups 
of  women  of  various  castes  sitting  on  the  graves,  smoking 
their  chiboucks,  and  sipping  their  coffee ;  others,  half-naked, 
chattering  and  lively,  endeavoring  to  kill  time  ;  all  unattend- 
ed, except  by  female  servants,  for  it  is  beneath  the  dignity  of 
the  male  population  ever  to  associate  in  public  with  women. 
It  is  a  curious  picture  of  gay,  fluttering  life,  mingled  with  the 
mouldering  tombs  of  the  silent  and  ghastly  dead.  Often, 
when  disposed  to  indulge  in  reflection,  I  come  over  here  to 
read  the  history  of  Time's  doings,  past,  present,  and  to  come ; 
Time,  who  has  brought  low  alike  the  great  and  the  little, 
the  Pasha  and  the  slave ;  who  makes  republics  beneath  the 
ground  that  factions  can  not  destroy ;  Time,  who  opens  the 
mysteries  of  the  future,  and  "  feeds  oblivion  with  decay  of 
things." 

The  Mohammedan  tombstones  are  distinguished,  for  the 
most  part,  by  a  head  or  representation  of  the  turban  carved 
in  stone.  Many  of  these  have  been  broken  off*  or  greatly  de- 
faced during  the  wars  which  have  raged  from  time  to  time 
between  the  tribes  of  the  East.  The  inscriptions  are  in  the 
Arabic  or  Turkish  characters,  and  in  the  more  modern  tombs 
are  often  covered  with  gilding.  Of  course,  I  could  read  none 
of  these  histories  of  human  virtues  and  human  sorrows,  but 
it  is  not  likely  that  I  lost  a  great  deal  of  reliable  information. 
The  whole  aspect  of  these  cemeteries  is  desolate  and  ruinous 
m  the  extreme.  There  is  no  order  or  arrangement,  except  in 
the  direction  of  the  heads,  which  are  all  toward  Mecca ;  the 
head-stones  seem  to  be  scattered  over  the  ground  at  random, 
pointed  up  in  all  directions,  or  lying  prostrate  in  confusion. 
The  earth  is  perfectly  barren,  and  abounds  in  all  sorts  of 
abominations,  too  disgusting  even  for  the  gangs  of  voracious 
dogs  that  prowl  among  the  abodes  of  the  dead.  It  is  a  strange 
place,  in  every  respect,  to  choose  as  a  fashionable  resort  for 
pleasure  and  gossip ;  but,  as  the  Turks  say,  in  the  name  of 
the  Prophet,  may  they  enjoy  themselves. 

There  arc  other  places  of  amusement,  chiefly  resorted  to  in 


148  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

the  summer  by  the  wealthier  classes.  Among  these  are  the 
Sweet  Waters  of  Europe,  and  the  Sweet  Waters  of  Asia,  the 
villages  of  the  Bosphorus,  the  Isles  of  the  Princes,  and  various 
places  in  the  country,  within  a  few  miles  of  the  city.  Steam- 
ers now  ply  all  along  the  shores  of  the  Bosphorus,  to  the 
Prince's  Isles,  to  the  seaport  town  nearest  to  Brusa,  and  othei 
ports  along  the  Sea  of  Marmora.  There  are  also,  for  the 
poorer  classes,  large  omnibus  caiques,  in  which,  for  a  few 
paras,  they  can  be  landed  at  any  village  on  the  Bosphoms, 
from  the  Golden  Horn  to  Bayukdere. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

MANNERS   AND    CUSTOMS. 

BEING  depressed  in  spirits  to-day,  in  consequence  of  a  bad 
opera  last  night,  I  am  going  to  be  serious  and  give  you  a 
chapter  on  dogs.  Doubtless  you  will  think,  after  the  essay 
I  intend  to  give  you  on  Parisian  and  Italian  lap-dogs,  that  I 
am  predisposed  to  hydrophobia,  and  labor  under  a  prejudice 
against  the  canine  species  ;  but  this  is  not  so.  The  fact  is, 
I  was  bitten  in  my  younger  days  by  a  perfectly  sane  dog, 
without  the  slightest  provocation  ;  and  ever  since,  I  have 
taken  a  personal  interest  in  the  study  of  the  entire  race.  Be- 
sides, the  dogs  of  Constantinople  are  a  legitimate  part  of  the 
population.  Without  them  it  would  be  no  longer  Constanti- 
nople. They  are  as  much  a  part  of  it  as  the  mosques,  or  the 
Turks,  the  Armenians,  or  the  bazaars.  Dogs  are  here  pro- 
.tected  by  public  sentiment,  or  some  superstition,  or  by  law ; 
so  they  swarm  in  immense  numbers  :  they  do  not  belong  to 
any  body,  but  roam  in  freedom,  enjoying  the  fullest  immu- 
nity from  molestation.  Travelers  generally  set  them  down  as 
the  great  nuisances  of  the  Bast,  and  heap  unmeasured  abust 
upon  every  cur  that  dares  to  bark  his  sentiments.  This  is 
unjust ;  they  might  as  well  abuse  the  Turks  for  wearing 
beards  and  worshiping  Mohammed,  as  denounce  the  poor  dogs 
for  showing  hostility  toward  Christians.  Now,  for  my  part, 
I  consider  them  an  extraordinary  race  of  animals,  in  spite  of 
the  prejudices  of  education,  and  especially  those  of  Constan- 
tinople, and  I  intend  to  do  them  justice.  Throughout  the 
streets,  and  in  all  the  grave-yards  and  public  places,  the  at- 
tention of  the  strangel  is  attracted  by  the  extraordinary  num- 
ber of  wo- fish-looking  dogs  that  he  sees  prowling  about  01 


150  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

basking  in  the  sun,  and  in  some  of  the  narrow  passages  he  is 
often  compelled  to  step  over  whole  families  of  them.  These 
animals  abound  in  every  quarter,  Frank,  Jewish,  Armenian, 
and  Turkish,  and  are  formed  into  communities  like  their  two- 
legged  neighbors.  Certain  invisible  lines  determine  the  extent 
of  territory  belonging  to  each  community,  and  so  distinctly 
defined  are  these  boundaries,  that  every  member,  down  to  tho 
most  illiterate  cur,  knows  precisely  how  far  he  can  venture, 
and  what  his  inherent  rights  are.  But  let  it  not  be  supposed 
that  dogs  are  more  sensible  than  men  ;  they  have  their  ter- 
ritorial disputes  as  well  as  human  beings,  and  very  much  on 
the  same  general  principle.  A  strong  community  crowds  over 
into  the  possessions  of  a  weaker  one  ;  a  quarrel  ensues,  and 
whichever  cur  can  maintain  the  disputed  territory  by  force  of 
teeth  and  paws,  holds  it  till  some  stronger  one  interferes  and 
settles  the  difficulty  by  dispossessing  both  the  others.  There 
are  various  minor  grades  of  difficulty  between  these  canine 
communities,  petty  infringements  upon  the  rights  of  others, 
such  as  cases  of  trespass,  prowling  beyond  the  lines  in  search 
of  food,  snatching  up  bones  and  the  like,  just  as  with  us;  but 
these  infractions  of  the  law  are  settled  at  once,  which  makes 
justice  more  terrible  to  evil-doers,  and  costs  less  in  the  way  of 
fees  to  sheriffs,  courts,  and  lawyers.  The  community  fights 
its  battles  and  defends  its  rights,  punishes  offenders  within  its 
own  limits,  and  commits  depredations  upon  others,  very  much 
after  the  fashion  of  the  most  respectable  human  communities ; 
but  I  never  knew  an  instance  of  one  dog  giving  a  bone  to  an- 
other for  arguing  a  case,  or  of  tw^  dogs  involved  in  a  private 
quarrel  drawing  upon  the  resources  of  the  community  to  com- 
pensate them,  or  pay 'the  expenses  of  an  appeal  to  a  higher 
tribunal.  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  what  religious  doctrines 
these  dogs  of  Constantinople  entertain,  but  they  have  a  very 
pious  hostility  to  all  Franks,  and  bark  or  .growl  at  Christians 
/.ast  as  we  do  at  the  Mohammedans  and  other  Oriental  sects; 
and  I  have  no  doubt  they  are  quite  as  firmly  convinced  that 
not  one  of  us  will  reach  heaven,  as  we  are  that  the  gates  will 
be  closed  against  all  who  disbelieve  in  our  doctrines.  We  are 
good  haters  of  other  sects,  and  why  should  the  dogs  be  con- 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  151 

demned  for  trying  to  be  human  ?    If  they  hate  with  a  bigoted 
cordiality,  yet  they  love  with  a  barbarous  sincerity. 

Opposite  to  the  Hotel  do  Byzant  is  an  open  space,  inhabit- 
ed by  one  of  these  canine  communities,  whose  operations  of 
domestic  and  municipal  economy  afford  me  constant  food  for 
study.  Near  by  is  a  Mohammedan  grave-yard,  inhabited  by 
another  tribe  ;  and  it  is  my  chief  employment,  every  after- 
noon, to  sit  on  the  portico,  smoking  a  chibouck,  and  watching 
the  movements  of  my  four-legged  neighbors.  I  have  formed 
quite  an  attachment  for  the  Byzantines,  and  a  bitter  preju 
dice  against  those  sneaking  fellows  beyond,  who  skulk  behind 
the  tomb-stones.  We  of  the  Byzant  region — for  I  have  fought 
for  them,  and  am  now  treated  as  a  member  of  the  commu- 
nity, and  always  received  with  a  general  wagging  of  tails — 
we,  Byzantines,  depend  chiefly  for  our  living  upon  the  offal 
cast  out  from  a  range  of  houses  just  beyond  the  boundary. 
True,  this  is  not  strictly  our  property,  but  we  consider  that  it 
ought  to  be  ;  and  so  whenever  a  bone,  or  a  mutilated  cat,  or 
defunct  chicken,  is  thrown  out,  we  are  startled  from  our  sun- 
ny corners  and  daily  slumbers  by  the  little  curs  that  we  keep 
to  wake  us ;  and,  headed  by  the  shaggy  old  veterans,  who 
have  fought  their  way  to  eminence,  we  sally  forth  in  a  body 
to  seize  our  prey.  Domestic  difficulties  ensue ;  hungry  drones, 
who  are  the  first  to  run,  want  more  than  their  share,  and 
scuffles  take  place,  which  arouse  the  scouts  of  the  enemy 
Now  from  every  tomb-stone  there  springs  a  barking  foe  ;  the 
grave-yard  re-echoes  with  the  call  to  arms ;  big  dogs  and  lit- 
tle dogs  rush  furiously  into  battle  array;  and  down  they  thun 
der  in  terrible  force  upon  the  fighting  Byzantines,  in  an  ava 
lanche  of  dust.  One  universal  yell  of  rage  and  defiance  rends 
the  welkin ;  the  smoke  of  battle  rises  on  high,  and  for  a  while 
nothing  is  seen  but  a  cloud  of  dust,  and  nothing  heard  but  the 
gritting  of  teeth  and  the  tug  of  strife  at  close  quarters.  It  is 
a  moment  of  awful  suspense. .  Shall  it  be  victory  and  chicken, 
or  defeat  without  chicken  ?  The  noble  Byzantines  or  the 
skulking  Tombers  ?  Now  there  is  a  swaying  to  and  fro  of 
the  struggling  mass — tails  begin  to  appear  through  the  dust  ; 
the  wounded  rush  out  and  skulk  off,  panting,  to  places  of 


152 


A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 


temporary  safety.  Individual  foes,  twisted  up  in  motral  strife, 
tumble  out  and  roll  together  on  the  blood-stained  field  ;  cow- 
ards hover  round  in  the  outer  circle,  snapping  at  unguarded 
legs ;  and  thieves  sneak  off  with  portions  of  the  prey,  and  eat 
them  behind  the  tomb-stones  while  the  battle  is  raging.  At 
last  superior  numbers  prevail  against  desperate  courage.  Alas 
for  the  Byzantines !  The  Tombers  drive  them  yelling  beyond 
the  lines.  They  rally  and  re-rally  their  exhausted  forces,  but 
it  won't  do  ;  they  are  morally  and  physically  vanquished — 
the  chicken  is  gone,  and  the  maimed  and  the  dying  skulk 
off,  licking  their  wounds.  Flushed  with  victory,  the  Tombers 
follow  up  to  the  very  door-steps  of  the  Byzant,  and  defile  the 
sacred  temple  of  the  Byzantines.  Do  you  suppose  I  can  sit 
quietly,  with  a  stick  in  my  hand,  and  witness  this  crowning 
insult  ?  Not  I — to  the  rescue  !  to  the  rescue  !  On,  Byzan- 
tines, on  !  Away  we  go  !  Down  go  the  Tombers  before  a 
volley  of  sticks  and  stones,  and  we  chase  the  flying  foe  into 
the  very  secret  recesses  of  the  grave-yard.  Hurra  for  the 
Byzantines !  Victory  is  ours  at  last ;  arid  for  the  rest  of  that 
day  the  Tombers  are  a  crest-fallen  set.  Many  a  human  bat- 
tle has  been  decided  in  the  same  way,  and  why  shouldn't  we 
feel  proud  of  our  victories  as  well  as  others  ? 


6ENERAL  VIEW  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE. 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  153 

But  enough  of  dogs.  I  am  going  to  be  terribly  in  earnest 
now,  like  Mr.  Macready  in  Otbello,  and  tell  you  about  the 
dancing  dervishes.  Of  the  religious  belief  entertained  by  this 
singular  sect  I  can  grVe  you  no  account.  »It  is  to  their  strange 
ceremonies  that  I  wish  to  introduce  you  at  present.  Not  far 
from  the  Hotel  de  Byzarit  is  one  of  the  temples  or  churches 
of  the  dancing  dervishes ;  a  low  building  without  much 
ornament,  situated  back  from  the  street  in  a  court;  and  here 
once  or  twice  a  week  strangers  are  permitted  to  witness  the 
ceremonies.  No  entrance  fee  is  required,  and  all  sects  are 
admitted  without  distinction  of  costume  or  nation  ;  subject 
only  to  rules  of  good  order  and  the  customary  prohibition  of 
boots  and  shoes  beyond  the  door.  It  was  on  a  day  of  more 
than  ordinary  importance  that  I  had  the  fortune  to  witness 
this  curious  exhibition.  We  had  formed  a  large  party  of 
Frank  travelers  at  the  hotel,  and  all  went  together.  At  the 
door  we  took  off  our  shoes,  and  those  who  had  slippers  were 
allowed  to  wear  them,  and  those  who  had  none  were  permit- 
ted to  stand  in  their  stockings.  A  servant  in  attendance 
showed  us  into  the  quarter  allotted  to  the  Franks :  there 
were  other  quarters  occupied  by  a  miscellaneous  crowd  of 
natives.  The  hall,  or  place  of  worship  is  a  large  circular 
room,  with  an  arched  roof  hung  around  with  lamps,  and  the 
galleries  for  the  spectators  extend  all  around  on  the  same 
floor,  with  a  railing  in  front  and  a  foot-board,  as  in  a  circus. 
All  the  decorations  were  of  the  plainest  and  cheapest  kind, 
and  the  hall  itself  was  entirely  without  furniture,  the  floor  being 
of  polished  wood,  quite  bare  of  carpets.  When  we  entered,  a 
din  of  wild  barbarous  music,  from  some  invisible  place,  reached 
us,  and  soon  the  priests  of  the  order  entered,  walking  slowly 
two  by  two,  preceded  by  the  patriarch,  an  old  man  with  a 
long  white  beard.  They  were  enveloped  in  plain  brown 
cloaks,  leaving  nothing  visible  but  their  tall  drab-colored  hats 
without  brims,  and  a  small  portion  of  the  face  and  beard  ; 
their  heads  were  bowed  down,  and  they  walked  with  a  solemn 
and  impressive  air  several  times  round  the  hall — the  music 
waxing  wilder  and  fiercer  all  the  time. 

At  length  the  patriarch  stopped  ;  the  priests  or  worshipers 
G* 


154  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

branched  off,  and,  ranging  themselves  round  the  room,  sat 
down  and  covered  up  their  heads,  leaving  nothing  but  their 
hats  visible,  and,  doubling  themselves  up  into  as  small  a 
space  as  possible,  regained  so  for  some  titne  quite  motionless. 
After  this,  at  a  signal  from  the  patriarch,  who  was  bowing 
down  and  praying  all  the  time,  they  slowly  arose,  and  while 
he  stood  at  the  head  of  the  hall  with  folded  hands  and  down- 
cast head,  each  worshiper  as  he  passed  turned  and  bowed  to 
the  one  in  the  rear,  who  bowed  at  the  same  time,  bringing 
their  heads  almost  to  meet  in  front  of  the  patriarch  ;  and  so 
they  continued,  each  one  bowing  as  he  passed,  till  the  whole 
party  had  bowed  themselves  through,  three  or  four  times  in 
succession.  They  then  ranged  themselves  round  the  hall 
again  in  their  respective  places,  and,  slowly  casting  off  their 
cloaks,  appeared  in  the  dancing  costume — a  plain  suit  of 
white  cotton,  consisting  of  petticoats  and  a  kind  of  roundabout, 
fastened  at  one  side  by  the  sash.  No  shoes  were  worn,  and 
the  tall  strange  hat  still  remained  on  the  head ;  and  now  the 
music  blew  louder  and  wilder,  and  the  dance  commenced 
Slowly  and  gracefully  they  merge  into  it,  twirling  around  like 
the  wooden  figures  on  a  hand-organ.  The  arms  are  extend- 
ed, the  hands  thrown  cnt,  the  feet  together  as  if  on  a  pivot, 
and  round  and  round  they  go,  with  their  long  beards,  and  pale 
faces,  and  downcast  eyes,  whirling  on  their  feet  like  men 
worked  by  machinery — all  but  the  old  patriarch,  who  staude 
at  the  head  with  folded  hands,  and  prays  during  the  ceremony 
of  the  waltz  with  his  accustomed  gravity.  From  the  outer 
circle  they  whirl  mysteriously  into  the  centre,  and  from  the 
centre  back  again  ;  and  soon  the  entire  hall  seems  to  be  alive 
with  the  solemn  waltzers.  There  is  no  noise  but  the  blowing 
of  the  music  and  the  low  grinding  of  the  feet.  One  almost 
wonders  what  powers  of  locomotion  keep  these  men  whirling 
around  so  long.  They  seem  never  to  be  tired  ;  the  spectator 
grows  dizzy  in  following  them.  Round  they  go,  with  dis- 
tended arms  and  sweeping  petticoats,  till  you  begin  to  think 
it  must  be  all  a  strange  vision,  the  grotesque  dream  of  a  dis- 
tempered fancy.  You  rub  your  eyes  and  look  again.  Sure 
enough  there  they  are,  turning  like  tops — the  very  dancing 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  155 

dervishes  that  you  have  read  about  in.  books ;  and  this  is 
their  temple — a  wild,  half-savage,  Oriental  place,  full  of  novel 
sights  and  sounds.  At  last  the  waltz  is  concluded ;  the 
priests  retire  to  their  places,  put  on  their  cloaks,  and  double 
themselves  up  in  little  knots  again  ;  and,  after  another  parade 
and  the  same  profound  ceremony  of  bowing  before  the  patriarch 
they  slowly  retire  ;  the  audience  follows  their  example  ;  and 
thus  ends  the  devout  exhibition  of  the  dancing  dervishes. 


There  is  another  sect,  called  the  howling  dervishes,  who 
hold  their  exhibitions  over  at  Scutari,  on  the  Asiatic  side. 
On  my  return  from  the  Mount  of  Chamlula  one  day,  I  step- 
ped in  to  see  them,  in  company  with  my  Portuguese  friends 
Dr.  Mendoza  and  the  Madam.  The  temple  or  house  of  wor- 
ship is  much  the  same  as  that  of  the  dancing  dervishes. 
Here  we  had  to  pay  a  small  fee  of  a  few  piasters  for  admis- 
sion, the  ceremony  being  considered  more  attractive  than  that 
of  the  dancers.  Nothing  was  said  about  our  shoes,  and  wo 
were  ushered  at  once  into  the  gallery  allotted  to  Christian 
spectators.  The  exhibition  had  just  commenced.  Thirty  or 
forty  young  howlers,  from  six  years  of  age  up  to  twenty-five, 
were  ranged  around  the  outer  circle.  At  the  head  stood  the 
chief  priest,  and  in  different  parts  of  the  hall  the  elders  and 
common  priests.  The  old  patriarchs,  who  were  unable  to 


156  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

join  in  the  violent  exercises  of  the  church,  were  seated  in  re- 
tired places,  where  they  bowed  their  heads  with  a  slow  and 
clock-like  motion,  and  chanted  a  kind  of  hum-drum  song  like 
the  bass  notes  of  an  organ.  In  front  of  the  chief  priest  stood 
a  row  of  lusty  fellows,  with  shaven  heads  and  nearly  naked, 
who  bore  the  heaviest  part  in  the  performance.  Commenc- 
ing at  a  high  key,  rendered  more  piercing  by  the  shrill  voices 
of  the  little  children,  they  screamed  a  sort  of  chant,  so  wild 
and  unearthly  that  it  was  difficult  to  recognize  them  as 
human  beings  ;  aid  the  whole  fraternity  started  into  motion 
as  if  struck  with  a  palsy.  Gracious  heavens,  what  a  sight ! 
A  menagerie  of  wild  animals  let  loose  would  be  tame  to  it.  1 
can  compare  it  to  nothing  but  a  bedlam  of  hopping  and  howl- 
ing lunatics.  First  on  one  foot,  then  on  the  other,  the  shaven 
heads  bobbing  as  a  schoolboy  bobs  his  head  after  a  dive  when 
he  gets  a  bubble  in  his  ear  ;  all  bobbing  together,  and  nodding 
and  jerking  and  jumping  and  hopping  like  gigantic  puppets 
worked  by  secret  wires ;  the  high  scream  gradually  lowering 
to  a  groan,  and  the  groan  jogging  down  by  degrees  into  a 
grunt,  and  the  grunt  into  a  general  howl,  so  deep  and  savage 
that  the  snarling  of  hyenas  or  the  roaring  of  lions  would 
be  music  to  it.  The  lusty  gang  in  front,  work  themselves 
into  a  phrensy ;  their  shaven  crowns  jerk  about  at  such  a 
rate  that  one  expects  to  see  a  head  roll  down  on  the  floor 
every  moment ;  their  voices  lose  all  semblance  of  human 
voices,  and  now  it  becomes  a  hoarse  panting  grunt  from  the 
pits  of  their  stomachs,  and  streams  of  sweat  roll  down  from 
their  faces,  and  their  scanty  cotton  robes  hang  dripping  on 
their  bodies.  Through  the  wriggling,  jerking  mass  you  see  a 
little  howler  who  has  hopped  and  howled  himself  out  of 
breath  ;  his  head  hangs  on  his  shoulder,  his  eyes  rolling,  and 
his  tongue  hanging  out  while  he  gasps  for  breath ;  an  old 
priest  gives  him  a  smart  crack  on  the  pate  with  his  knuckles, 
and  he  starts  into  motion  again  as  if  suddenly  galvanized, 
and  the  whole  fraternity  of  little  howlers  are  frightened  into 
a  fresh  fit  of  hopping  and  bobbing  and  yelling.  Now  you 
detect  a  sly  fellow  in  the  crowd  trying  to  cheat  people  with 
the  idea  that  he  is  as  zealous  a  worshiper  as  any  of  them  ; 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  157 

but  you  can  plainly  see  that  he  is  an  impostor  or  a  backslid- 
er ;  he  only  hops  once  in  a  while,  when  he  thinks  he  is  noticed, 
and  howls  so  faintly  that  nobody  can  hear  him,  and,  as  to  the 
jerking  of  his  head,  it  is  the  mere  nodding  of  a  head  in  the 
act  of  taking  a  private  nap,  and  requires  no  exertion  except 
to  keep  up  a  show  of  wakefulness.  Old  men  with  long  griz- 
zled beards  sway  to  and  fro,  unable  to  hop,  and  too  short  of 
breath  to  howl ;  but  they  keep  up  a  bass  growl,  and  with 
their  deep  blood-shot  eyes  and  the  restless  swaying  of  the 
head,  look  not  unlike  polar  bears  standing  upright.  Still 
older  men,  unable  to  stand  at  all,  sit  upon  their  mats  and 
sway  and  growl  in  concert.  At  last  the  voices  have  been 
jogged  out  of  the  sturdiest  worshipers  ;  nothing  is  heard  but 
the  husky  grating  of  the  breath  in  the  throat,  and  the  hur- 
ried panting  for  air;  and  finally  their  chins  fall  loosely  on 
their  breasts,  their  tongues  loll  out,  and  all  become  motionless 
as  statues.  The  chief  priest  thereupon  makes  a  prayer,  to 
which  the  most  devout  attention  is  paid.  Not  a  whisper  is 
heard  till  the  prayer  is  concluded.  For  a  moment  a  dead  si- 
lence prevails.  The  whole  congregation  and  all  the  worship- 
ers are  mute  and  motionless.  It  is  a  most  impressive  pic- 
ture of  rapt  devotion.  Barbarous  the  scene  may  be,  but  not 
devoid  of  solemnity.  And  now  a  low  sobbing  is  heard 
around  the  hall  of  worship — so  low  at  first  that  it  seems  to 
come  from  spirits  in  the  air ;  gradually  it  swells  and  spreads 
around  till  the  whole  crowd  of  dervishes  are  sobbing,  and  the 
sobs  deepen  into  a  low  crying,  and  the  low  crying  into  a  wild 
burst  of  grief,  swelling  and  winding  around  the  hall  like  a 
funeral  wail.  From  every  eye  the  big  tears  roll  down,  and 
the  faces  and  breasts  of  the  sobbing  crowd  are  wet  with 
weeping.  So  strong,  indeed,  is  the  influence  of  the  melting 
mood,  that  the  wife  of  my  Portuguese  friend,  who  stood  near 
me,  covered  her  face  with  her  handkerchief,  and  I  verily  be- 
lieve cried  as  hard  as  any  of  them.  It  was  the  most  earnest 
crying  I  ever  witnessed — so  like  natural  weeping  that  I  be- 
gan at  length  to  feel  moist  about  the  eyes  myself,  and  never 
in  my  life  did  I  come  so  near  bursting  out  into  a  regular  cry. 
Five  minute^  more  would  have  done  it ;  for,  however  ridicu- 


f 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  159 

lous  such  exhibitions  may  appear,  there  is  always  something 
in  believing  people  to  be  in  earnest  when  they  pray,  and  espe- 
cially when-  they  cry,  that  touches  one  in  a  tender  part.  I 
am  certain  Alphonse  de  Lamartine  would  have  opened  the 
flood-gates  of  his  tender  heart,  under  a  similar  appeal  to  his 
sympathies,  and  deluged  the  whole  place  with  tears. 

"  Come,"  said  the  Doctor,  taking  the  weeping  Madam  by 
the  arm,  "  de  Madam  is  a  little  indispose ;  he  are  necess  to 
proceed  to  de  hotel.  Dinner  sJiall  be  ready.  Tis  imposs  to 
remain  longer." 

Thus  closed  the  ceremony  of  the  howling  dervishes — a 
strange  Oriental  sight,  strikingly  picturesque-  and  impressive, 
from  which  some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  state  of  civiliza- 
tion in  the  East,  and  some  reflections  suggested  upon  the 
state  of  civilization  in  certain  parts  of  our  own  country. 

Learning  that  the  Sultan  was  in  the  habit  of  making  his 
exit  once  a  week  from  some  one  of  his  palaces,  and  afford- 
ing the  public  an  opportunity  of  seeing  his  sublime  person  on 
horseback  or  in  the  royal  caique,  while  escorted  by  the  offi- 
cers of  his  court  to  some  mosque  selected  for  the  occasion,  I 
walked  down  to  Tophana  yesterday  to  witness  this  grand  cere- 
mony. There  was  quite  a  respectable  array  of  republicans  in 
our  party  to  enjoy  the  novelty  of  this  Suitanic  display  of  grand- 
eur and  condescension.  On  reaching  the  broad  avenue  be 
tween  the  palace  and  the  gardens  of  the  royal  H^rem  we  found 
it  lined  on  both  sides  with  officers  and  soldiers  in  all  the  pomp 
of  court  uniform,  fezzed  and  brass-buttoned,  sworded,  tasseled, 
embroidered,  and  gilt,  to  the  very  climax  of  civilized  Orient- 
alism. The  military  uniform  of  the  present  day  in  Constan- 
tinople is  a  sad  falling  off  from  the  magnificence  of  the  native 
costume  under  the  earlier  Sultans.  Copying  the  Frank  na- 
tions of  Europe  in  all  the  inconveniences  and  absurdities  of 
dress,  the  Turks  are  quite  as  awkward,  and  as  much  out  of 
their  element  in  tight-laced  coats,  stiff  collars,  and  scanty 
trowsers,  as  the  stiffest  Englishman  or  most  vivacious  French- 
man would  be  in  their  loose  flowing  robes  and  dignified  tur- 
bans ;  and  they  have  neither  the  smart  elegance  which  re- 
sults from  good  taste,  even  in  what  is  objectionable,  or  the 


160  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

judgment  to  adopt  only  what  is  useful  or  convenient.  The 
turban,  which  has  heen  cast  aside  for  the  fez,  had  the  double 
advantage  of  protecting  the  head  and  eyes  from  the  glare  of 
the  sun,  as  also  of  forming  a  becoming  termination  to  the 
figure ;  but  nothing  can  be  more  ridiculous  than  the  skimpy 
red  night-cap,  called  a  fez,  which  now  supplies  its  place. 
What  can  be  expected  of  a  people  who  wear  such  things  on 
their  heads  ?  How  can  they  entertain  any  but  mongrel  no- 
tions, when  their  brains  are  subjected  to  the  daily  process  of 
broiling  ?  If  they  were  semi-barbarous  under  the  turban, 
they  are  more  than  semi-imbecile  under  the  fez.  It  must  be 
admitted,  however  that  the  present  display  of  military  cos- 
tume and  discipline  was  very  much  superior  to  what  one  or- 
dinarily sees  about  the  military  stations  of  Stamboul.  The 
guards  and  officers  seem  to  be  carefully  chosen,  and  in  gen- 
eral appearance  are  not  inferior  to  those  of  more  civilized 
nations. 

Passing  under  the  grated  bridge  which  extends  over  the 
avenue  connecting  the  gardens  of  the  Harem  with  the  palace, 
we  entered  a  large  open  square  in  front  of  the  mosque.  The 
entire  space  was  encircled  by  lines  of  soldiers,  standing  in 
readiness  to  receive  the  royal  pageant.  To  the  left,  at  a  re- 
spectable distance,  stood  some  few  hundred  native  spectators, 
but  owing  to  our  dress,  and  perhaps  a  certain  respect  inspired 
for  us  by  the  faring  manner  in  which  our  dragoman,  Carlo, 
made  room  for  us,  we  were  permitted  to  stand  behind  a  line 
of  soldiers  directly  in  front  of  the  mosque.  It  wanted  a 
quarter  of  twelve  :  the  Sultan  was  to  appear  precisely  at 
noon.  During  the  interval  four  or  five  servants  were  busily 
engaged  in  sweeping  down  the  steps  upon  which  his  High- 
ness was  to  ascend,  and  spreading  thereupon  rich  cloths  to 
be  pressed  by  his  royal  feet.  These  were  also  carefully  swept 
down  two  or  three  times  in  succession,  so  that  not  a  speck 
should  be  left.  By*the  time  all  this  was  accomplished  there 
was  a  general  stir,  a  law  murmur  of  awe  and  expectation. 
Nobody  appeared  to  say  any  thing,  or  do  any  thing,  or  see 
any  thing,  but  it  was  perfectly  apparent  that  the  great  Abcl- 
ul-Mejid  was  coming.  There  was  an  instinctive  holding  of 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  161 

breaths,  and  an  anxious  looking  up  the  avenue  toward  the 
gates  of  the  palace.  And  now  the  murmur  of  awe  rises 
higher,  the  clatter  of  horses'  feet  is  distinctly  heard,  the 
music  strikes  np,  and  out  comes  the  sovereign  Potentate  of 
Turkey,  mounted  on  a  prancing  steed,  and  surrounded  by  a 
legion  of  magnificent  Pashas,  likewise  mounted  on  prancing 
steeds.  Onward  he  comes,  slowly  and  with  solemn  majesty. 
But  his  thoughts  are  on  holy  subjects,  he  Icjoks  neither  to  the 
right  nor  to  the  left,  but  straight  toward  the  door  of  the 
mosque.  A  Sultan  may  condescend  to  bow  before  Allah  and 
the  Prophet,  but  he  is  too  high  a  personage  to  bow  to  man  ; 
hats  are  pulled  off  and  heads  nodded  in  vain.  He  pays  no 
attention  to  the  homage  ;  not  even  to  us  sovereigns,  who  have 
done  him  the  honor  to  stand  bare-headed  before  him  these 
ten  minutes  for  the  sake  of  enjoying  the  show  unmolested  by 
his  minions !  The  royal  dress  worn  on  this  occasion  was 
quite  simpte,  consisting  of  ordinary  European  trowsers,  an 
embroidered  Turkish  coat,  and  a  fez,  with  a  cloak  thrown 
loosely  over  the  shoulders.  His  face  is  pale  and  careworn, 
his  person  emaciated,  and  his  appearance  altogether  blase. 
People  say  that  he  is  drugged  and  stupefied,  for  certain  po- 
litical purposes  ;  and  certainly,  if  ever  a  poor  fellow  bore  the 
marks  of  premature  decay  and  imbecility  of  mind  resulting 
from  excess,  it  is  Abd-ul-Mejid. 

Now,  all  hail  to  Allah  and  the  Prophet !  the  Sultan  has 
reached  the  door  of  the  mosque.  Bearded  Pashas,  glittering 
with  buttons  and  gold  lace,  catch  his  bridle ;  and  bearded 
Pashas  again  catch  him  as  he  painfully  dismounts.  Slowly 
he  ascends  the  steps  upon  the  well-swept  cloths — that  aged 
young  man  of  twenty-eight — supported  on  each  side  by  a 
Pasha.  A  shout  of  joy  and  devotion  rises  on  high  !  Pashas, 
officers,  soldiers  and  all  shout  glory  and  honor  to  the  Sultan ! 
Long  life  and  happiness  to  Abd-ul-Mejid  !  All  hail  to  Allah 
arid  the  Prophet,  the  sovereign  Potentate  of  the  East  has  gone 
to  prayers  !  Up  goes  the  crier  of  the  mosque  on  the  highest 
minaret,  and  proclaims  the  important  tidings  to  the  world, 
"  Allah  akbar !  the  sublimest  of  Sultans  is  at  his  devotion* 
God  is  great,  and  Mohammed  is  his  Prophet !" 


162  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

For  the  space  of  half  an  hour  there  is  silence  in  the  outer 
world ;  then  comes  forth  the  Sultan  again,  purified  in  body 
and  soul.  Again  the  bearded  Pashas  catch  him  in  their 
arms,  arid  help  him  on  his  horse.  He  is  seated  once  more  on 
the  favored  steed,  still  regardless  of  the  crowd,  a  melancholy 
picture  of  resigned  misery.  The  music  strikes  up,  the  royal 
pageant  moves  on,  and  Abd-ul-Mejid  is  borne  back  to  hi? 
palace  to  receive  the  congratulations  of  his  devoted  followers 
and  the  caresses  of  his  loving  wives. 

Poor  Abd-ul-Mejid !  Miserable  Abd-ul-Mejid !  thou  art 
an  unhappy  mouse,  surrounded  by  cats  !  Sir  Catford  Sera  li- 
ning is  an  experienced  old  mouser ;  his  eye  is  on  you ;  his 
claws  are  sharp ;  his  cunning  surpasses  your  simple  under- 
standing. Don't  believe  in  him  because  he  purrs  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  other  cats.  This  very  moment  he  would  swallow 
you  bodily  if  he  dared  ;  but  Sir  Catford  knows  very  well  that 
the  great  Russian  Tom  Cat  has  bigger  claws  and  sharpe: 
teeth  than  himself;  that  when  the  swallowing  commences  he 
won't  stand  much  chance  in  the  scramble  with  Russian  Tom. 
Sir  Catford  makes  a  great  noise ;  threatens  you  very  often ; 
talks  loudly  about  the  prowess  of  British  Cats :  don't  mind 
him  Abdul ;  he  won't  do  you  much  harm ;  he's  getting  old 
and  likes  to  see  himself  in  a  rage ;  depend  upon  it  "  there's 
nothing  iri't."  The  Austrian  and  Russian  party  have  you 
safe  enough  whenever  they  think  proper  to  devour  you  ;  there- 
lore  take  Sir  Catford  easy,  and  look  well  to  the  bigger  cats. 

I  went  away  from  this  exhibition  a  thoughtful  man.  That 
very  morning  I  had  been  reading  in  an  American  paper  a 
tirade  in  favor  of  disunion,  a  series  of  resolutions  passed  at 
some  sectional  convention.  Never  before  had  the  complete 
madness  of  the  proposition  occurred  to  me.  What  was  it 
proposed  to  do  1  To  annul  the  Confederacy  of  free  States  ;  to 
abandon  all  the  blessings  of  liberty  because  of  a  single  evil ; 
to  rush  headlong  from  the  highest  eminence  of  prosperity  and 
happiness  that  any  nation  upon  earth  has  yet  attained,  into 
the  dark  abyss  of  anarchy  and  final  despotism  ;  to  crush  with 
sacrilegious  hands  the  Constitution  that  has  been  bequeathed 
to  us  by  the  truest,  and  purest,  and  wisest  of  patriots  that 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  163 

ever  struggled  for  human  rights  and  the  perpetuity  of  human 
freedom  and  bury  the  glorious  galaxy  of  stars  too  deep  in 
degradation  to  excite  the  contempt  of  the  pettiest  despot  that 
grovels  beneath  the  ban  of  human  hatred.  It  is  not  at  home, 
surrounded  by  local  influences,  and  blinded  by  the  zeal  of 
party,  that  we  can  appreciate  the  terrible  immensity,  the 
utter  madness  of  this  proposition.  Go  abroad,  ye  who  would 
lightly  cast  away  the  priceless  heritage  of  liberty,  and  study 
well  the  operation  of  other  governments  ;  feel  but  for  a  sing'i 
day  the  crushing  effects  of  religious  intolerance  and  military 
despotism ;  mingle  with  the  suffering  masses  that  no  longei 
breathe  their  woes,  but  hope  against  hope  in  the  very  darkness 
of  despair  ;  behold  the  misery  that  you  would  bring  upon  the 
heads  of  a  happy  and  prosperous  people,  and  ask  yourselves, 
Is  it  well  to  talk  of  disunion  ?  Roam  from  the  North  to  the 
South  ;  linger  among  the  mouldering  monuments  of  the  past ; 
ponder  over  the  power  and  the  weakness  of  man,  what  he  has 
been,  what  he  might  be,  and  what  he  is ;  behold  the  fairest 
lands  that  ever  breathed  the  charm  of  romance  over  the  pages 
of  history  now  waste  and  desolate ;  look  back  from  out  the 
gloom  of  human  depravity  upon  your  own  free  and  happy 
country,  rising  to  the  zenith  of  its  prosperity,  spreading  its 
genial  influences  over  the  whole  face  of  the  earth  ;  and  say, 
would  you  be  no  longer  a  nation  of  freemen  ?  Would  you 
aspire  to  a  page  in  future  history  as  that  people  who  have 
fallen  lower  than  ever  yet  man  has  fallen  ? 

Whatever  may  be  the  evils  under  which  we  labor  at  home, 
let  us  hope  that  they  are  but  temporary  ;  they  are  dust  in  the 
balance  compared  with  the  evils  that  afflict  the  nations  of 
Europe.  Let  us  bear  them  patiently,  and  look  to  the  healing* 
influences  of  time  for  the  remedy.  Above  all,  let  us  never 
cease  to  cherish,  in  the  deepest  recesses  of  our  hearts,  the 
memory  of  those  immortal  men  who  have  bequeathed  to  us 
the  blessings  of  an  enlightened  and  liberal  system  of  govern- 
ment. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

BABEL    REVIVED. 

THE  great  variety  of  languages  spoken  throughout  the 
East,  but  especially  in  Smyrna  and  Constantinople,  is  one 
of  the  first  things  that  excites  the  astonishment  of  the  stran- 
ger. Pera  is  a  perfect  Bahel  for  languages.  It  is  not  uncom 
mon  to  hear  the  same  person  speak  in  six  different  tongues , 
and  I  am  told  that  there  are  some  who  speak  as  many  as 
twelve.  Our  dragoman  (Carlo,  whose  information,  however, 
must  he  received  with  a  grain  of  allowance)  tells  me  that 
there  are  some  sixty  or  seventy  different  castes  in  Constanti- 
nople and  the  suburbs.  I  have  myself  seen  about  the  wharves 
of  Galata,  Turks,  Persians,  Armenians,  Georgians,  Circassians, 
Arabs,  Egyptians,  Algerines,  Greeks,  Italians,  French,  Ger- 
mans, Poles,  Austrians,  Russians,  Cossacks,  English,  and 
Americans,  and  I  can  riot  remember  how  many  others.  It 
is  evident  that  the  number  of  Oriental  castes,  leaving  out  the 
Franks  of  Eastern  Europe,  who  can  not  properly  be  classed 
with  them,  must  be  very  great.  No  person  of  any  distinction 
m  society  here  is  considered  ordinarily  accomplished  who  does 
not  speak  at  least  four  languages  in  addition  to  his  own.  A 
knowledge  of  the  Turkish,  Greek,  Italian,  and  French  is  al- 
most indispensable  in  all  business  transactions  ;  and  there  are 
few  merchants  who  do  not  speak  in  addition  to  these,  tolera- 
bly good  English.  The  business  men  of  Pera  and  Galata 
display  this  extraordinary  talent  in  the  highest  degree — the 
trreeks,  perhaps,  more  than  any.  Of  the  relative  facility 
with  which  the  various  languages  of  Southern  Europe  and 
Ihe  East  are  acquired,  say  by  an  American  or  Englishman, 
[  am  inclined,  from  all  I  could  ascertain,  to  put  them  down 


BABEL  REVIVED.  165 

as  follows:  French  first;  everybody  learns  French,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course.  The  Italian  is  more  difficult,  because  of  the 
great  variety  of  terminations  to  the  same  word,  and  the  ex- 
traordinary number  of  conventional  phrases  ;  it  is  one  of  the 
easiest  to  acquire  to  a  certain  extent,  so  far  as  to  answer  llie 
ordinary  purposes  of  traveling  ;  the  pronunciation  is  simple  ; 
but  it  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  to  become  master  of,  so 
as  to  read  Dante,  Petrarch,  and  all  the  great  poets.  Many 
who  speak  it  fluently  in  ordinary  conversation,  can  not  even 
translate  a  paragraph  from  a  newspaper.  The  Spanish  is  of 
more  difficult  pronunciation,  but  less  arbitrary  in  its  construc- 
tion. In  two  years,  any  person  of  ordinary  capacity  can,  by 
study  and  constant  practice  in  the  society  of  the  native  pop- 
ulation, speak  these  three  languages  fluently.  The  modern 
Greek  is  more  difficult,  and  requires  a  much  longer  time  to 
be  acquired.  The  Turkish  is  not  considered  difficult,  com- 
pared with  other  Oriental  languages.  To  carry  on  an  ordin- 
ary conversation  requires  no  great  study  ;  but  to  speak  and 
write  it  grammatically,  and  especially  on  any  but  common 
colloquial  topics,  is  altogether  another  matter ;  it  is  then  one 
of  the  most  difficult.  The  Persian  is  considered  the  richest 
and  most  beautiful,  and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most 
difficult.  The  Arabic  is  the  study  of  a  life-time.  So  many 
new  sounds  are  necessary  to  be  mastered,  such  a  complexity 
of  grammatical  rules  overcome,  that  none  need  hope  to  acquire 
even  such  proficiency  as  to  read  and  speak  it  at  all  in  less 
than  five  or  six  years  ;  and  it  is  seldom  or  never  spoken  by  a 
foreigner  with  the  fluency  of  the  native  Arabs,  even  the  low- 
est castes,  who  roll  it  out  with  a  rapidity  and  volume,  and  a 
violence  of  gesticulation  and  utterance  quite  astonishing  to  a 
civilized  ear. 

Among  the  most  pleasant  recollections  of  my  three  weeks' 
sojourn  in  Constantinople,  is  a  ride  from  Therapia,  on  the 
Bosphorus,  to  the  waterworks  of  Belgrade,  in  company  with 
Mr.  Marsh,  our  Minister.  During  my  stay  in  Therapia,  I 
had  the  pleasure  also  of  forming  the  acquaintance  and  enjoy- 
ing the  kind  hospitality  of  Mr.  Brown,  Secretary  of  the  Amer- 
ican legation.  To  both  of  these  gentlemen  I  am  indebted 


166  A  CJttJSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

for  many  kind  attentions ;  and  the  remembrance  of  the  de- 
lightful hours  spent  in  their  society  and  that  of  their  accom- 
plished families,  forms  the  most  agreeable  episode  in  my  pil- 
grimage through  the  East. 

Before  my  departure  from  Constantinople  I  was  enabled, 
by  joining  a  large  party  of  tourists,  who  obtained  a  firman 
from  the  Sultan,  to  visit  the  Seraglio  and  all  the  mosques  of 
Stamboul,  including  the  far-famed  Mosque  of  Santa  Sophia. 
Lamartine  calls  this  "  a  grand  Caravanseri  of  God !"  I  looked 
in  vain  for  something  about  it  in  the  shape  of  camels  or  mules  ; 
but  saw  nothing  of  the  kind  to  justify  such  a  figure  of  speech. 
Probably  when  the  great  poet  was  there,  he  saw  imaginary 
camels  and  mules ;  certainly  there  must  have  been  an  ani- 
mal with  very  long  ears  about  the  premises. 

Doctor  Mendoza  and  the  Madam  having  ascertained  from 
the  Portuguese  Minister,  that  there  was  a  good  hotel  in 
Jerusalem,  and  that  it  was  quite  practicable  to  make  the 
tour  of  the  Holy  Land  without  starvation,  made  up  their 
rninds  to  encounter  the  risk.  They  departed  in  the  first 
French  steamer,  intending  to  stop  a  few  days  in  Smyrna. 
The  doctor  said  it  was  not  "  imposs"  that  we  should  meet 
again  in  Beirut. 

I  was  so  fortunate  during  my  stay  at  the  Byzant,  as  to 
form  the  acquaintance  of  a  most  intelligent  and  agreeable 
young  gentleman  from  North  Carolina,  who  was  traveling 
for  pleasure  and  information.  He  readily  joined  me  in  my 
contemplated  tour 'through  Syria.  On  the  15th  of  Novem- 
ber, having,  through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Brown,  Secretary 
of  Legation,  obtained  a  firman,  -signed  by  Abd-ul-Mejid,  re- 
commending us  to  all  Pashas,  Reis,  and  Sheiks  throughout 
his  dominions,  as  "prince-born  gentlemen,"  we  looked  our 
last  look  at  the  glorious  City  of  the  Sultan,  and  departed  fox 
Beirut. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE    ENGLISH    TOURIST. 

ON  our  passage  through  the  Sea  of  Marmora  we  were  beset 
by  a  furious  Levanter.  The  waters  were  lashed  into  a  while 
foam,  and  floods  of  spray  covered  the  decks  fore  and  aft.  The 
motion  of  the  steamer  in  the  short  chopping  seas  produced 
the  most  unpleasant  effects.  Crowded  as  we  were  with  deck- 
passengers,  chiefly  pilgrims  on  the  way  to  Jerusalem,  it  waa 
pitiable  to  behold  their  terror  and. the  miserable  condition  to 
which  they  were  reduced  by  sea-sickness  and  exposure  to  the 
weather.  Some  lay  covered  up  in  their  dripping  blankets, 
groaning  piteously ;  others  staggered  about  the  decks,  cling- 
ing to  the  rails,  and  looking  vacantly  toward  the  land  ;  some 
prayed,  some  wept,  some  smoked,  some  did  nothing  at  all, 
but  it  was  evident  there  were  not  many  aboard  who  would 
have  objected  to  being  put  ashore  again.  In  the  midst  of  all 
the  confusion,  I  noticed  an  English  tourist  on  the  quarter- 
deck, leaning  against  the  companion-way,  and  contemplating 
the  scene  with  a  calmness  that  was  really  provoking.  Hang 
it,  man  !  I  thought,  have  you  no  soul — no  bowels  of  compas- 
sion ?  Why  do!0t  you  look  amused,  or  sorry,  or  interested, 
or  sick,  or  miserable,  or  something  ?  I  went  a  little  closer, 
to  try  if  I  could  discover  some  trace  of  feeling  in  his  stolid 
features.  Surely  I  had  seen  that  face  before ;  that  clean- 
shaved  face ;  those  well-trimmed,  reddish  whiskers ;  that 
starched  shirt-collar  of  snowy  whiteness ;  that  portly  figure. 
Certainly  I  had  seen  him.  Every  body  has  seen  him. 
Bromley  is  his  name — Mr.  Bromley,  an  English  gentleman 
of  fortune,  who  travels  to  kill  time.  He  is  the  Mephistoph- 
ilcs  of  Englishmen.  I  saw  him  every  where — in  Paris  read- 


168 


A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 


ing  the  newspapers  in  a  cafe,  on  the  top  of  the  Righi  criti- 
cising the  rising  of  the  sun,  in  Vienna  wandering  through  the 
Paradei's  Garten,  in  Berlin  gazing  calmly  at  the  statue  of 
Frederick  the  Great,  on  the  Acropolis  of  Athens  examining 
the  Parthenon,  in  Constantinople  lounging  about  the  Bazaars, 
in  Smyrna  eating  beefsteak  at  the  Hotel  of  the  Two  Augustas 
— always  reserved,  serious,  dogmatical,  and  English.  When 
there  were  only  Americans  in  the  party  he  was  a  vast  im- 
provement upon  Bromley.  As  a  matter  of  principle  and 
'habit,  he  never  makes  acquaintances  that  may  be  troublesome 
hereafter.  He  is  the  embodiment  of  the  non-committal.  He 
never  takes  any  thing  on  hearsay ;  he  looks  at  nothing  that 
is  not  designated  in  the  guide-book ;  patronizes  no  hotel  that 
is  not  favorably  mentioned  by  Murray ;  admires  no  picture 
except  by  number  and  corresponding  reference  to  the  name 
of  the  artist ;  is  only  moved  to  enthusiasm  when  the  thing  is 
pronounced  a  chef  tPceuvrt  by  the  standard  authorities.  He 


THE  ENGLISH  TOURIST  169 

shuts  himself  up  in  his  shell  of  ice  wherever  he  goes,  and 
only  suffers  himself  to  be  thawed  out  when  he  thinks,  upon 
mature  consideration,  that  there  is  no  danger  of  coming  in 
contact  with  somebody  that  may  take  advantage  of  the  ac- 
quaintance. To  his  fellow-countrymen  he  is  stiff  and  haughty , 
they  may  claim  to  know  him  on  his  return  to  England ;  to 
Americans  he  is  generally  polite  and  affable,  and  returns  any 
advance  with  great  courtesy ;  but  seldom  makes  an  advance 
himself.  Bromley  is  a  perfect  gentleman  in  the  negative 
sense.  He  does  nothing  that  is  ungentlemanly.  He  is  too 
non-committal  for  that.  Possibly  he  has  a  heart,  and  a  soul, 
and  just  as  much  of  the  little  weaknesses  that  spring  from  the 
heart  and  soul  as  any  man — if  you  can  only  find  it  out.  Touch 
his  national  pride,  and  you  touch  his  weakest  point.  He  is 
British  from  the  crown  of  hia  head  to  the  soles  of  his  feet — 
looks  British,  feels  British,  talks  British,  carries  with  him  the 
very  atmosphere  of  Great  Britain.  In  the  course  of  five  min- 
utes' conversation  he  refeis  to  our  free  institutions,  and  asks 
how  can  they  be  free  when  we  tolerate  slavery.  One  would 
think  the  question  had  never  been  discussed  before.  He  starts 
it  as  a  telling  point,  and  refers  to  the  glorious  freedom  of 
glorious  old  England  !  Can  we,  Brother  Jonathan,  stand 
that  ?  Of  course  not ,  we  are  excited  ;  we  refer  him  for  an 
answer  to  the  coal-mines  of  Cornwall — to  the  report  on  that 
subject  made  by  a  Committee  of  Parliament.  Ha  !  that 
makes  him  wince  ! — that  hits  hu^ivhere  he  has  no  friends ! 
He  staggers — pauses — fires  up  a^in,  and  gives  us  a  severe 
thrust  back  on  repudiation  !  repudiation  in  Pennsylvania  and 
Mississippi !  disgraceful  act !  a  stain  upon  the  nation  !  That 
touches  us  ;  we  writhe  ;  we  wince  ;  we  groan  inwardly ;  we 
would  give  a  quarter  of  a  dollar  at  that  very  moment  out  of 
our  own  pocket  toward  paying  the  debts  of  the  delinquent 
States ;  but  we  rally  again ;  we  put  it  to  Bromley  on  the 
unholy  wars  with  India ;  the  tithe  system  in  Ireland  ;  the 
public  debt  of  England,  a  most  unrighteous  institution  for  the 
purpose  of  sustaining  a  titled  aristocracy — volley  after  volley 
we  pour  into  him  ;  till  quite  breathless  we  pause  for  a  reply. 
Bromley  is  puzzled  ;  the  argument  has  assumed  a  variety 

"H 


170  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

of  forms  ;  it  has  become  a  seven  headed  diagon  ;  he  doesn't 
know  which  head  to  attack ;  he  retorts  on  the  use  of  bowie- 
knives  in  America — the  lawless  state  of  things,  where  a  man 
cuts  another  down  for  looking  at  him.  True ;  we  admit 
that ;  it's  a  habit  we  have — a  short  way  of  doing  justice ; 
but  that's  not  the  point — the  point  is  this  ;  has  England  ever 
produced  any  thing  like  the  gold  mines  of  California?  Brom- 
ley smiles  contemptuously,  points  his  finger  toward  Australia, 
and  says  :  "  You  only  beat  us  in  a  yacht  race — that's  all." 
"  Yes,. sir,  we  beat  you,  sir,  in  steamers;  in  all  sorts  of  sail- 
ing vessels  ;  in  machinery  ;  in  enterprise  ;  in — by  Jupiter,  sir, 
what  haven't  we  beaten  you  in?  eh,  sir,  what?"  The  En- 
glishman asks  :  "  Where's  your  Shakspeare,  your  Milton,  your 
Byron,  your — dooce  take  it,  where's  your  literature  ?"  And 
so  the  battle  rages,  till  both  parties  having  exhausted  all 
their  ammunition,  Bromley  admits  that  America  is  a  rising 
country  ;  a  great  country ;  a  country  destined  to  be  the  most 
powerful  in  the  world.  Brother  Jonathan  is  moved,  and  in 
the  fullness  of  his  heart  protests  that  Great  Britain  is  the  only 
free  government  in  the  world  besides  the  Republic  of  the 
United  States.  Bromley  yields  us  the  palm  in  the  construc- 
tion of  steamers  and  sailing  vessels  ;  Jonathan  cheerfully  ad- 
mits that  England  is  ahead  in  literature ;  Bromley  confesses 
that  he  always  likes  to  meet  Americans ;  Jonathan  swears 
that  he  is  devoted  to  Englishmen ;  finally  both  parties  con- 
clude that  it  is  useless  for  people  of  the  same  race  to  quarrel ; 
that  all  the  difference  baleen  the  two  countries  is  merely 
the  difference  of  latitude  and  longitude.  So  we  journey  on, 
as  far  as  our  roads  lie  together,  very  amicably,  and  find  that 
with  a  little  mutual  concession  to  each  other's  vanity  we  can 
be  very  good  friends.  True,  Bromley  reminds  us,  now  and 
then,  that  we  chew  tobacco  ;  which  we  repel  by  an  allusion 
to  wine-bibbling ;  this  reminds  Bromley  that  we  have  a  nasal 
accent,  and  use  slang  terms ;  that  we  say  "  I  guess,"  when 
we  mean  "  I  fancy"  or  "  I  imagine  ;"  but  we  make  ourselves 
even  with  him  on  that  score  by  telling  him  that  John  Bull 
speaks  the  worst  English  we  ever  heard ;  that  he  does  it  from 
pure  affectation,  which  makes  the  case  unpardonable ;  that 


THE  ENGLISH  TOURIST. 


171 


for  our  life  we  can't  understand  an.  Englishman  two  steps  off, 
his  language  is  so  minced  and  disguised  by  ridiculous  effem- 
inacy of  pronunciation,  by  hemming  and  hawing,  and  all 
sorts  of  mannerisms — so  shorn  of  its  wholesome  strength  by 
the  utter  absence  of  simplicity  and  directness ;  to  which  he 
responds  by  asking  us  where  we  got  our  English  from  ;  which 
we  answer  by  saying  we  got  it  from  the  people  who  first  set- 
tled in  America,  but  improved  upon  it  a  good  deal  after  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  In  this  way  we  never  want 
for  subjects  of  conversation,  and  we  find  upon  the  whole  that 
the  English  tourist  is  a  very  good  sort  of  fellow  at  heart,  with 
just  about  the  same  amount  of  folly  that  is  incident  to  human 
nature  generally,  and  not  more  than  we  might  find  in  ourselves 
by  looking  inward.  Bromley  is  but  a  single  specimen — a 
man  of  many  fine  qualities,  pleasant  and  companionable, 
when  one  becomes  accustomed  to  his  affectation.  I  have 
met  others  of  a  different  stamp — but  here  we  are  in  the  Dar- 
danelles ;  the  chain  runs  out ;  the  gale  whistles  madly  against 


172 


A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 


the  rigging  and  iron  rods ;  the  thing  is  fixed ;  we  must  stop 
for  twelve  hours. 

A  sorry  twelve  hours  it  was  for  second-class  passengers. 
Time,  however,  stops  for  no  class  ;  it  passed  eventually  ;  and 
we  once  more  went  foaming  along  on  our  way.  At  Mitylene 
we  touched  to  land  some  passengers,  and  next  morning  we 
were  in  sight  of  Smyrna.  From  day  to  day,  after  our  de- 
parture from  Smyrna,  we  enjoyed  a  continual  feast  of  scenery 
along  the  shores  of  Asia  Minor ;  sweeping  past  islands,  and 
towns,  and  towering  mountains,  in  an  atmosphere  of  Oriental 
richness,  and  out  again  upon  a  slumbering  sea. 

At  Rhodes  we  spent  a  day  not  soon  to  he  forgotten  in  our 
pilgrimage.  The  picturesque  beauty  of  the  island ;  the  de- 
serted and  time-worn  aspect  of  the  town ;  the  old  houses 
ornamented  with  the  armorial  bearings  of  the  Knights  of 
Jerusalem ;  the  strange,  piratical  appearance  of  the  Greek 
population,  afforded  us  ample  material  for  enjoyment  and 
observation  during  our  brief  stay. 

On  the  following  day  we  cast  anchor  opposite  the  town  of 
Larneca  in  the  Island  of  Cyprus.  What  time  Ave  had  here 


VIEW   IN    LAKNECA. 


THE  ENGLISH  TOURIST.  173 

was  very  pleasantly  disposed  of  in  rambling  about  the  ruined 
old  town,  making  sketches,  wondering  how  such  a  beggarly 
and  degenerate  population  could  exist  on  the  face  of  the  earth, 
and  musing  upon  the  many  changes  in  the  condition  of  the 
Island  since  the  birth-day  of  the  Cyprian  goddess  who  came 
out  of  the  surf  at  Paphos. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE    SYRIAN   DRAGOMAN. 

ANY  body  stationed  on  the  roof  of  Demetrie's  hotel,  near 
Beirut,  might  have  seen,  with  a  good  spy-glass,  early  in  the 
morning  on  the  23d  of  November,  a  steamer  bearing  the  Aus- 
trian flag,  paddling  its  way  into  the  harbor.  The  decks  of 
that  steamer  were  crowded  with  pilgrims  of  all  nations — 
Turks,  Arabs,  Russian  and  Polish  Jews,  and  Greeks  ;  but 
conspicuous  on  the  quarter-deck  were  two  Americans,  who 
might  also  have  been  seen  with  the  spy-glass  above  men- 
tioned— one  a  tall  slender  gentleman,  with  a  red  book  in  his 
hand ;  and  the  other  rather  shorter,  but  not  too  short,  habited 
in  the  unpretending  garb  of  a  backwoodsman.  Any  body 
might  know  in  a  moment  that  the  first  was  a  Southerner,  and 
the  last  no  other  than  your  friend  of  the  present  writing. 

The  weather  for  nearly  two  months  previously,  during 
our  wanderings  in  the  Levant,  had  been  unusually  fine ;  and 
for  the  past  month,  in  Constantinople  and  Smyrna,  we  had 
enjoyed  cloudless  skies  and  a  climate  of  delightful  temper 
ature.  Ah  !  if  I  could  only  give  you  a  description  of  all  the 
fine  views  of  bare  mountains,  palm  trees,  and  mosques  that 
we  saw  along  the  shores  of  Asia  Minor,  or  the  glorious  sunsets 
among  the  Greek  Islands !  Such  scenes,  however,  are  for 
artists  and  poets,  not  for  practical  men  like  us,  who  go  about 
the  world  to  study  the  realities  of  life,  and  dissipate  the  mists 
of  fancy. 

Scarcely  had  we  cast  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Beirut  (which, 
by  the  way,  like  all  the  harbors  on  the  coast  of  Syria,  is  a 
very  bad  one),  when  we  were  boarded  by  a  whole  legion  of 
hotel-keepers  and  guides.  Books  of  recommendation  were 
thrust  at  us  by  lusty,  fellows  in  petticoats,  who  talked  English, 


THE  SYRIAN  DRAGOMAN.  175 

French,  Italian,  and  Arabic  all  in  one  breath ;  cards  with 
views  of  splendid  hotels  that  never  have  existed  in  Beirut  and 
probably  never  will ;  private  hints  whispered  in  our  ears  by 
disinterested  persons,  and  all  sorts  of  strange  things  yelled  at 
us  by  the  boatmen,  who  crowded  round  the  steamer.  In  five 
minutes  I  verily  believe  there  was  more  talking  done  on  that 
occasion,  without  a  single  movement  being  made  toward  dis- 
embarking the  passengers,  than  one  would  hear  during  the 
whole  process  of  clearing  a  California  steamer.  It  is  one  of 
the  peculiarities  of  Oriental  travel  that  the  moment  a  steamer 
drops  her  anchor  the  officers  labor  under  the  idea  that  the  con- 
tract of  transportation  has  been  fulfilled  ;  that  there  is  nothing 
more  to  be  done  but  obstruct  as  far  as  practicable  all  attempts 
at  getting  ashore.  Even  where  there  is  no  quarantine  to  per- 
form, and  no  police  or  passport  nuisance,  they  are  so  loth  to 
part  company  with  their  passengers,  that  I  have  seen  them 
turn  in  and  go  to  sleep  for  the  purpose  of  passing  the  time 
agreeably,  leaving  a  man  stationed  at  the  gangway,  who 
always  says,  "  Excuse,  senor,  you  can't  go  ashore  yet."  Can 
a  person  of  nervous  temperament,  who  has  suffered  all  the 
horrors  of  confinement  for  two  or  three  days,  and  who  feels 
certain  that  the  authorities  on  shore,  who  are  expected  every 
moment,  will  never  come,  in  consequence  of  smoking  the 
chibouck  till  they  fall  asleep,  and  sleeping  till  they  are  ready 
to  smoke  the  chibouck  again — can  one,  I  say,  be  tried  at  the 
bar  of  public  opinion  and  justly  censured,  under  such  circum- 
stances, for  saying  dammit  ? 

The  season  was  late  for  a  tour  through  Syria  and  Palestine. 
Already  the  rain  was  a  month  behind  the  time ;  it  might 
come  to-morrow  or  it  might  not ;  but  that  it  would  come  be- 
fore very  long  was  regarded  as  a  certainty.  Travelers  return- 
ing from  the  Nile  usually  cross  the  little  desert  to  Gaza  early 
in  March,  so  as  to  take  Palestine  in  the  spring,  or  somewhat 
sooner,  by  Mount  Sinai  and  Arabia  Petraea.  The  season  ia 
then  delightful ;  the  country  covered  with  verdure  ;  and  of 
course  Palestine  is  seen  in  its  most  favorable  aspect,  before  the 
earth  has  become  parched  by  the  scorching  heat  of  summer. 
With  us  it  was  not  a  matter  of  choice.  We  had  spent  the 


176  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

lime  in  rambling  about  the  Levant,  and  had  just  a  month  01 
six  weeks  to  spare,  and  it  was  Palestine  now  or  never. 

Demetrie,  a  fine  looking  Greek,  who  carried  every  thing 
before  him  by  his  splendid  Albanian  costume,  pushed  the 
babbling  crowd  aside,  and  took  possession  of  us  without  oppo- 
sition. His  mustache  was  the  blackest  and  thickest  and  most 
conspicuous  I  ever  saw :  it  had  killed  half  the  Arab  girls  in 
Beirut,  and  well  entitled  the  bearer  to  his  distinguished  repu- 
tation as  Demetrie,  the  conqueror  of  the  female  sex.  But 
Demetrie  is  also  distinguished  as  a  dragoman.  He  has  been 
the  guide  of  English  lords  and  Russian  counts  without  num- 
ber ;  has  made  fortunes  and  spent  them  with  a  facility 
unknown  to  the  cool-headed  inhabitants  of  more  temperate 
climes.  He  has  gone  through  all  the  varieties  of  life  ;  and  : 
now  proprietor  of  the  principal  hotel  beyond  the  walls  of 
Beirut ;  and  I  can  conscientiously  say  to  all  travelers  that  he 
is  a  prince  of  a  fellow,  and  that  his  hotel  is  the  clearest  and 
most  commodious  in  Syria. 

Long  before  our  arrival  at  the  hotel  we  were  beset  by 
guides,  all  eagerly  thrusting  at  us  their  certificates  of  charac- 
ter. Brief  as  our  experience  had  been  in  Oriental  life,  we 
were  discreet  enough  not  to  compromise  ourselves  by  accept- 
ing the  services  of  any  of  these  ragamuffins,  who,  to  say  the 
least  of  them,  were  a  very  shabby-looking  set.  Besides,  we 
were  cautioned  against  them  by  a  very  distinguished  person- 
age who  accompanied  Demetrie  to  the  steamer,  and  who 
seemed  to  be  the  bosom  friend  and  confidant  of  Demetrie. 
That  personage  inspired  me  with  profound  sentiments  of 
admiration  for  his  character  and  genius  from  the  moment  I 
first  saw  him.  There  was  a  cool  air  of  self-reliance  about 
him ;  an  off-hand,  dashing  style  of  address  in  the  man ;  a 
contempt  for  all  rivalry  and  opposition ;  an  unmistakable 
superiority  over  all  the  other  Arabs,  that  took  both  myself  and 
friend  captive  at  once.  We  belonged  to  him ;  we  were  his 
subjects  from  the  very  beginning.  Demetrie  held  us  by  force 
of  a  fine  mustache  ;  but  the  great  unknown  held  us  by  force 
of  character.  We  were  at  once  under  mesmeric  influence ;  ho 
could  have  taken  us  to  the  public  bazaars  and  sold  us  without 


THE  SYRIAN  DRAGOMAN.  177 

the  least  opposition  on  our  part,  at  almost  any  sacrifice,  such 
was  the  mysterious  nature  of  his  power.  What  he  was,  or 
where  he  lived,  or  what  he  intended  doing  with  us,  it  was 
impossible  to  say ;  all  he  did,  so  far,  was  to  push  aside  the 
babbling  crowd  of  guides,  and  utter  contemptuous  exclama- 
tions when  they  provoked  him,  such  as,  "  Dirty  blackguards ! 
Poor  devils  !  Never  mind  them,  gentlemen ;  they  don't  know 
any  better  !  Miserable  dogs  !  Come  on,  gentlemen  ;  come 
on  ;  this  is  the  way  !" 

On  our  arrival  at  Demetrie's,  our  friend  and  protector  took 
us  to  the  best  room  in  the  establishment,  where  he  arranged 
us  comfortably ;  told  us  we  might  rely  upon  Demetrie  for 
good  feeding ;  and  then,  drawing  forth  from  his  sash  a  smaL 
black  book,  addressed  us  substantially  as  follows  : 

"  Gentlemen,  I  am  YUSEF  SIMON  BADRA,  the  dragoman  for 
Syria.  This  is  my  book  of  recommendations.  I  have  taken 
a  thousand  American  gentlemen  through  Syria.  Yes,  sir;  th\. 
Americans  like  me  ;  I  like  the  Americans  !  I  hate  English- 
men ;  I  won't  take  an  Englishman ;  they  don't  suit  me ; 
can't  get  along  together  ;  I  know  too  much  for  'em.  But  the 
Americans  suit  me  ;  always  ready  ;  up  to  every  thing — fun, 
fight,  or  frolic.  There  are  other  dragomans  here,  gentlemen. 
Emanuel  Balthos  is  my  friend  ;  I  won't  interfere,  if  you  wish 
to  take  him.  I  don't  say  he's  afraid  of  robbers  ;  I  don't  say 
he  hires  guards  in  all  the  bad  places  on  that  account.  I  speak 
only  of  myself.  The  robbers  know  me.  The  name  of  Yusef 
Badra  is  guard  enough  in  any  part  of  Syria.  Courage  is  a 
great  thing  in  this  country  ;  courage  will  carry  a  man  through 
where  a  thousand  guards  daren't  show  their  faces.  The  last 
time  I  was  out  I  killed  six  Bedouins.  I  sometimes  kill  such 
fellows  for  fun.  They  know  me ;  they  know  it's  a  habit  I  have, 
and  they  always  keep  clear  when  they  can.  But  you  can 
choose  for  yourselves,  gentlemen  ;  there's  my  book  ;  look  over 
it.  Of  course  you'll  smoke  some  chiboucks.  Ho  !  there — 
Hassin — chiboucks !" 

The  chiboucks  were  brought ;  and  while  we  smoked,  and 
looked  over  Yusef 's  book  of  recommendations,  that  renowned 
personage  took  our  spare  clothes,  created  a  tremendous  sensa- 

H* 


A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 


lion  down  below  by  the  manner  in  which  he  caused  all  the 
domestics  to  brush  them,  and  made  every  Arab  about  the 
premises  tremble  by  the  ferocity  of  his  looks. 

Such  an  idea  as  that  of  entertaining  any  proposition  from 
another  dragoman  never  entered  our  heads.  We  felt  that  we 
belonged  to  Yusef  from  the  beginning  ;  that  he  had  a  right  to 
us,  which  we  could  not  resist ;  that  he  was  just  the  man  to 
take  us  through  a  dangerous  country.  Every  recommenda- 
tion in  the  book  complimented  him  upon  his  indomitable  per- 
severance and  courage.  It  was  enough  ;  the  thing  was  fixed. 

Yusef  was  already  our  drago- 
man. Here  you  have  his  por- 
trait : 

Face  open  and  intelligent, 
eyes  round  and  full  of  fire, 
mustache  fierce,  temperament 
nervous-sanguine,  age  twenty- 
eight,  costume  rich,  careless, 
and  dashing ;  figure  well-knit 
and  of  medium  height ;  man- 
ner frank,  self-relying,  and 
chivalrous ;  whole  tone  of 
character  imposing,  captivat- 
ing, and  Oriental. 
YUSEF-  Now  I  profess  to  be  a  judge 

of  mankind.  I  claim  some  merit  in  knowing  Yusef  at  a 
glance.  I  felt  that  we  were  perfectly  safe  in  his  hands  ;  that 
he  would  fight  fo**1is ;  nay,  wallow  in  blood  for  us,  if  neces- 
sary ;  that  it  would  do  us  credit  to  travel  with  a  dragoman 
so  renowned  and  feared  throughout  Syria  ;  that  his  lively 
energy  would  carry  us  through  all  difficulties;  that  there  was 
nothing  narrow  or  contracted  in  such  a  man,  and  he  would 
feed  us  well,  and  provide  us  with  good  horses. 

The  duties  of  the  Syrian  dragoman  are  rather  onerous,  and 
require,  perhaps,  some  explanation.  He  is  interpreter  of  the 
party ;  he  usually  provides  the  provisions,  horses,  mules, 
tents,  &c.,  and  charges  so  much  a  day  for  the  whole  ;  he 
speaks  various  languages,  seldom  less  than  five  or  six  ;  is 


THE  SYRIAN  DRAGOMAN.  179 

expected  to  know  all  about  the  country,  and  something  more. 
He  is  responsible  for  the  name  of  every  village  and  town  on 
the  route ;  he  is  responsible  for  every  assertion  made  by 
Robinson  and  other  authorities,  and  if  there  be  any  incon- 
gruity in  the  name  or  location,  it  is  the  dragoman  who  is 
compelled  to  answer  for  it ;  he  is  responsible  for  every  moral 
and  physical  defect  in  the  horses  and  mules ;  for  every  shower 
of  rain  that  interrupts  the  journey ;  for  every  headache  and 
fit  of  indigestion  suffered  by  any  member  of  the  party ;  for  the 
amount  of  fleas  that  infest  every  stopping-place  ;  for  the 
sterile  and  unsatisfactory  character  of  the  scenery  in  certain 
Stages  of  the  journey  ;  for  the  roughness  of  the  roads;  for  the 
uncivilized  appearance  of  the  Arabs  throughout  Syria ;  for 
the  bad  state  of  repair  in  which  the  bridges  are  kept;  for 
every  extreme  of  heat  and  cold;  and  all  the  discomforts  of 
the  climate  and  country ;  in  short  the  dragoman  is  responsi- 
ble for  every  thing.  He  must  be  a  man  of  courage,  of  energy, 
of  patience,  of  good  temper,  of  intelligence,  of  learning,  of 
every  thing  under  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars.  He  must  know 
all  that  the  Howadji  doesn't  know,  and  all  that  the  Howadji 
ought  to  know;  his  brains  must  act  for  himself  and  the 
Howadji,  and  for  the  muleteers,  and  for  the  horses,  mules 
donkeys,  and  every  living  thing  in  the  company ;  if  they  don't 
they  are  very  poor  brains  indeed.  He  must  be  dragoman, 
tutor,  lexicon,  valet,  cook,  caterer,  comforter,  warrior — all  in 
one  ;  always  ready  for  duty,  night  and  day,  never  tired,  never 
at  fault  in  any  emergency.  In  effect,  the  dragoman  has  a 
pretty  busy  life  of  it,  and  Yusuf  is  a  good  specimen  of  the  best 
class.  If  he  didn't  know  and  do  all  these  things,  he  was 
never  at  a  loss  to  know  and  do  something  else  equally  satis- 
factory ;  and  in  the  end  we  were  forced  to  admit  that  his 
resources  were  unlimited.  When  he  forgot  the  name  of  a 
village  or  important  ruin,  he  invented  a  name  that  fully  an- 
swered our  purpose ;  when  it  rained  he  proved  to  us  that 
rain  was  necessary  in  order  to  clear  the  atmosphere  and 
make  it  healthy ;  when  there  were  no  robbers,  he  showed  us 
what  he  would  do  if  there  were  robbers  ;  when  we  were  dis- 
satisfied in  any  way,  he  was  more  dissatisfied  with  the  cause 


J80  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

of  our  dissatisfaction  than  we  were  ourselves,  which  made  us 
perfectly  satisfied  ;  he  was,  in  all  respects,  a  sagacious,  ready- 
witted  and  obliging  dragoman,  highly  qualified  by  nature  for 
his  arduous  and  responsible  profession. 

If  he  had  any  fault  at  all,  it  was  an  incorrigible  hatred  of 
the  female  sex.  He  never  could  refer  to  the  subject,  without 
strong  expressions  of  contempt  and  disdain.  He  considered 
that  all  the  misfortunes  of  life  could  be  traced  to  woman ; 
'hat  the  whole  female  sex  consisted  of  devils  in  the  disguise 
of  angels.  As  this  singular  prejudice  concerned  himself  and 
not  us,  we  paid  but  little  attention  to  it  in  the  beginning  of 
our  journey ;  though  as  we  advanced  we  noticed  some  slight 
discrepancy  between  his  practice  and  his  preaching  that  struck 
us  as  somewhat  remarkable.  He  had  nieces  at  every  otop- 
ping-place,  and  he  never  passed  without  calling  to  see  them. 
Perhaps  the  relationship  overcame  his  scruples — or  \$  might 
be  the  pride  of  popularity. 

In  making  a  bargain  with  a  dragoman  it  is  considered 
safest  to  have  a  written  contract,  signed  before  the  consul, 
specifying  every  thing  to  be  furnished  by  the  dragoman,  the 
number  of  horses,  mules,  &c.,  and  the  compensation.  The 
usual  price,  including  tents,  provisions,  horses,  and  every 
thing  necessary,  is  one  pound  sterling  a  day  for  each  person ; 
but,  as  the  season  was  late,  we  agreed  with  Yusuf  for  ninety- 
six  piastres,  or  about  four  dollars  each.  Having  now  made 
the  tour  and  acquired  some  experience  in  bargain-making,  I 
am  very  sure  I  could  travel  through  Syria  and  Palestine  for 
about  half  that ;  not  of  course  in  the  luxurious  style  of  fashion- 
able tourists,  who  go  merely  for  pleasure,  but  in  quite  good 
enough  style  for  any  person  who  wishes  to  acquire  knoAvledge 
of  the  country  on  the  most  economical  terms. 

I  was  rejoiced,  soon  after  we  were  installed  at  Demetrie's, 
to  hear  the  well-known  voice  of  Doctor  Mendoza.  He  was 
making  arrangements  with  Emanuel  Balthos  to  take  himself 
and  the  Madam  through  Syria.  He  said  it  would  be  necess 
to  have  a  fine  tent,  to  have  chairs,  tables,  bedsteads  and  other 
conveniences,  as  the  Madam  was  indispose ;  that  without 
these  it  would  be  imposs  to  voyage. 


THE  SYRIAN  DRAGOMAN.  18) 

My  excellent  friends  were  delighted  to  see  me,  and  it  was 
a  mutual  gratification  to  find  that  we  would  iu  all  probability 
often  meet  during  our  tour ;  in  fact  that  we  would  perform 
the  greater  part  of  it  in  company.  They  had  stopped  several 
days  in  Smyrna,  and  were  much  pleased  with  the  Hotel  des 
deux  Augustes;  the  Doctor  had  ascertained  that  there  was 
an  excellent  hotel  in  Damask,  and  had  caused  Demetrie  to 
write  on  to  the  proprietor  and  engage  rooms,  without  which 
he  said,  it  would  be  imposs  to  hazard  the  voyage.  To-morrow 
morning  they  intended,  if  poss,  to  depart. 

The  same  afternoon,  it  was  an  interesting«and  instructive 
spectacle  to  see  the  Doctor  and  the  Madam  in  the  front  yard 
of  Demetrie's  hotel.  Their  tent  was  erected  for  inspection ;  it 
was  of  the  most  fanciful  shape  and  coloring ;  there  was  a 
private  chamber  in  it ;  and  there  was  no  end  to  the  knick- 
knacks  for  comfort  and  convenience.  The  horses  were  brought 
up ;  the  Doctor  examined  the  saddles  and  the  saddle-girths , 
mounted  and  got  down  again,  and  re-mounted  and  got  down 
again  a  dozen  times,  before  he  was  satisfied  that  the  capari- 
sons were  safe.  The  Madam  screamed,  and  endeavored  to 
faint,  when  she  saw  the  beautiful  little  mare  upon  which  she 
was  to  ride  cut  a  pigeon- wing  by  order  of  Emanuel  Balthos  ; 
and  it  was  only  by  great  persuasion  that  she  would  consent  tc 
remain  tranquil,  in  accordance  with  the  advice  of  the  Doctor, 
who  said  that  the  Madam  was  a  little  indispose ;  that  he 
(the  Madam)  would  be  better  after  he  had  voyaged  a  few 
days  on  horseback. 

On  the  following  day  we  bade  this  excellent  couple  adieu 
and  saw  them  proceed  on  their  winding  way  toward  Baalbek 
Here  I  may  as  well  mention  that  we  met  them  frequentlj 
during  our  tour,  and  sometimes  traveled  for  days  together ; 
the  greatest  cordiality  and  friendship  always  existed  on  both 
sides ;  and  it  was  only  owing  to  the  difference  in  our  mode 
of  traveling  that  we  did  r  ot  permanently  join  the  two  partiss 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE    HISTORY   OF    MY   HORSE    SALADIN. 

IF  there  was«any  one  thing  in  which  I  was  resolved  to  he 
particular  it  was  in  the  matter  of  horses.  Our  journey  was 
to  he  a  long  one,  and  experience  had  taught  me  that  much 
of  the  pleasure  of  traveling  on  horseback  depends  upon  the 
qualities  of  the  horse.  For  some  reason  unknown  to  me,  and 
which  I  have  never  been  able  to  discover  even  to  this  day,  a 
sort  of  fatality  has  always  attended  my  dealings  in  horseflesh. 
I  had  bought,  hired,  and  borrowed  the  very  finest-looking  ani- 
mals that  could  be  found  any  where,  and  never  failed  to  find 
out  before  long  that  they  were  blind,  spavined,  foundered,  or 
troubled  with  some  defect  which  invariably  caused  them  to 
stumble  and  throw  me  over  their  heads.  Not  content  with 
the  entertaining  spectacle  thus  afforded  to  public  eyes,  the 
very  friends  of  my  heart  turned  against  me  in  the  hour  of 
misfortune,  and  said  it  was  all  my  own  fault ;  that  any  body 
of  common  sense  could  have  foreseen  the  result ;  that  the  most 
honest  men  in  the  world,  whose  word  would  pass  in  bank  for 
any  amount,  could  not  help  lying  when  it  came  to  horses  ; 
that  a  man's  own  father  was  not  to  be  trusted  in  a  transac- 
tion of  this  kind,  or  even  a  man's  own  mother,  without  look- 
ing into  the  horse's  mouth  and  examining  his  hoofs.  On  this 
account  I  was  resolved  to  study  well  the  points  of  the  animal 
that  was  to  bear  me  through  Syria. 

Yusef  had  already  given  me  some  slight  idea  of  the  kind 
of  horse  I  was  to  have.  It  was  an  animal  of  the  purest 
Arabian  blood,  descended  in  a  direct  line  from  the  famous 
steed  of  the  desert  A  shrik  ;  its  great-grand-dam  was  the  beau- 
tiful Boo-boo-la,  for  whose  death  the  renowned  Arab  chieftain 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MY  HORSE  SALADIN.  183 

Ballala,  then  a  boy, "grieved  constantly  until  he  was  eighty- 
nine  years  of  age,  when,  no  longer  able  to  endure  life  under 
so  melancholy  an  affliction,  he  got  married  to  a  woman  of 
bad  temper,  and  was  tormented  to  death  in  his  hundred  and 
twentieth  year,  and  the  last  words  he  uttered  were,  dogh- 
era  !  doghera  !  straight  ahead  !  All  of  Yusef  Badra's  horses 
were  his  own,  bought  with  his  own  money,  not  broken  down 
hacks  like  what  other  dragomans  hired  for  their  Howadji ; 
though,  praised  be  Allah,  he  (Yusef)  was  above  professional 
jealousy.  There  was  only  one  horse  in  Syria  that  could  at 
all  compare  with  this  animal,  and  that  was  his  own,  Syed 
Sulemin  ;  a  horse  that  must  be  known  even  in  America,  for 
Syed  had  leaped  a  wall  twenty  feet  high,  and  was  trained  to 
walk  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  a  day,  and  kill  the  most  des- 
perate robbers  by  catching  them  up  in  his  teeth  and  tossing 
them  over  his  head.  I  had  not  heard  of  this  horse,  but 
thought  it  best,  by  a  slight  nod,  to  let  Yusef  suppose  that  his 
story  was  not  altogether  unfamiliar  to  rne.  Being  determined 
to  examine  in  detail  all  the  points  of  the  animal  destined  for 
myself,  I  directed  Yusef  to  bring  them  both  up  saddled  and 
bridled,  so  that  we  might  ride  out  and  try  their  respective 
qualities  before  starting  on  our  journey.  This  proposition 
seemed  to  confuse  him  a  little,  but  he  brightened  up  in  a  mo- 
ment and  went  off,  promising  to  have  them  at  the  door  in 
half  an  hour. 

Two  hours  elapsed  ;  during  which  time  I  waited  with  great 
impatience  to  see  the  famous  descendant  of  the  beautiful 
Boo-boo-la.  I  looked  tip  toward  the  road,  and  at  length  saw 
a  dust,  and  then  saw  a  perfect  rabble  of  Arabs,  and  then 
Yusef,  mounted  on  a  tall,  slabsided,  crooked  old  horse,  and 
then — could  it  be? — yes  ! — a  living  animal,  lean  and  hol- 
low, very  old,  saddled  with  an  ancient  saddle,  bridled  with 
the  remnants  of  an  ancient  bridle,  and  led  by  a  dozen  ragged 
Arabs.  At  a  distance  it  looked  a  little  like  a  horse ;  when 
it  came  closer  it  looked  more  like  the  ghost  of  a  mule ;  and 
closer  still,  it  bore  some  resemblance  to  the  skeleton  of  a  small 
camel ;  and  when  I  descended  to  the  yard,  it  looked  a  little 
like  a  horse  again. 


184  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

"  Tell  me,"  said  I,  the  indignant  blood  mounting  to  my 
cheeks,  "  tell  me,  Yusef,  is  that  a  horse?" 

"  A  horse  !"  retorted  he,  smiling,  as  I  took  it,  at  the  untu- 
tored simplicity  of  an  American  ;  "  a  horse,  0  General !  it  is 
nothing  else  but  a  horse ;  and  such  an  animal,  too,  as,  I'll 
venture  to  say,  the  richest  pasha  in  Beirut  can't  match  this 
very  moment." 

"  Tahib.'"  Good — said  one  of  the  Arabs,  patting  him  ot» 
the  neck,  and  looking  sideways  at  me  in  a  confidential  way. 

"  Tahib!"  said  another,  and  "tahib.'"  another,  and 
"  tahib"  every  Arab  in  the  crowd,  as  if  each  one  of  them 
had  ridden  the  horse  five  hundred  miles,  and  knew  all  his 
merits  by  personal  experience. 

That  there  were  points  of  some  kind  about  him  was  not  tu 
be  disputed.  His  back  must  have  been  broken  at  different 
periods  of  his  life,  in  at  least  three  places ;  for  there  were 
three  distinct  pyramids  on  it,  like  miniature  pyramids  of 
Gizeh ;  one  just  in  front-  of  the  saddle,  where  his  shoulder- 
blade  ran  up  to  a  cone  ;  another  just  back  of  the  saddle  ;  and 
the  third,  a  kind  of  spur  of  the  range,  over  his  hips,  where 
there  was  a  sudden  breaking  off  from  the  original  line  of  the 
backbone,  and  a  precipitous  descent  to  his  tail.  The  joints 
of  his  hips  and  the  joints  of  his  legs  were  also  prominent,  espe- 
cially those  of  his  forelegs,  which  he  seemed  to  be  always 
trying  to  straighten  out,  but  never  could,  in  consequence  of 
the  sinews  being  too  short  by  several  inches.  His  skin  hung 
upon  this  remarkable  piece  of  frame-work  as  if  it  had  been 
purposely  put  there  to  dry  in  the  sun;  so  as  to  be  ready  for 
leather  at  any  moment  after  the  /extinction  of  the  vital  func- 
tions within.  But,  to  judge  from  the  eye  (there  was  only 
one),  there  seemed  to  be  no  prospect  of  a  suspension  of  vital- 
ity, for  it  burned  with  great  brilliancy,  showing  that  a  horse, 
like  a  singed  cat,  may  be  a  good  deal  better  than  he  looks. 

"  A  great  horse  that,"  said  Yusef,  patting  him  on  the  neck 
kindly  ;  "  no  humbug  about  him,  General.  Fifty  miles  a  day 
he'll  travel  fast  asleep.  He's  a  genuine  Syrian." 

"And  do  you  tell  me,"  said  I  sternly,  "  that  this  is  the  great- 
grandson  of  the  beautiful  Boo-boo-la  ?  That  I,  a  General  iu 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MY  HORSE  SALADIN.  185 


the  Bob-tail  Militia  and  representative  in  foreign  parts  of  the 
glorious  City  of  Magnificent  Distances,  am  to  make  a  public 
exhibition  of  myself  throughout  Syria  mounted  upon  that 
miserable  beast  ?" 

"  Nay,  as  for  that,"  replied  the  fellow,  rather  crestfallen, 
"  far  be  it  from  me,  the  faithfullest  of  dragomans,  to  palm  off 
a  bad  horse  on  a  Howadji  of  rank.  The  very  best  in  Beirut 
are  at  my  command.  Only  say  the  word,  and  you  shall 
have  black,  white,  or  gray,  heavy  or  light,  tall  or  short ;  but 
this  much  I  know,  you'll  not  find  such  an  animal  as  that 
any  where  in  Syria.  Ho,  Saladin  !  (slapping  him  on  the 
neck,)  who's  this,  old  boy  ?  Yusef,  eh  ?  Ha,  ha  !  see  how 
he  knows  me  !  Who  killed  the  six  Bedouins  single-handed, 
when  we  were  out  last,  eh,  Saladin  ?  Ha,  ha !  you  know  it 
was  Yusef,  you  cunning  rascal,  only  you  don't  like  to  tell.  A 
remarkable  animal,  you  perceive ;  but,  as  I  said  before,  per- 
haps your  Excellency  had  better  try  another. 


186  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

"  No,"  said  I,  "  no,  Yusef ;  this  horse  will  do  very  well 
He's  a  little  ugly,  to  be  sure;  a  little  broken-backed,  and 
perhaps  a  little  blind,  lame,  and  spavined,  but  he  has  some 
extraordinary  points  of  character.  At  all  events,  it  will  do 
no  harm  to  try  him.  Come,  away  we  go  !"  Saying  which 
I  undertook  to  vault  into  the  saddle,  but  the  girth  being 
loose,  it  turned  over  and  let  me  down  on  the  other  side. 
This  little  mishap  was  soon  remedied,  and  we  went  off  in  a 
smart  walk  up  the  lane  leading  from  Demetrie's  toward  the 
sand-hills.  In  a  short  time  we  were  well  out  of  the  labyrinth 
of  hedges  formed  by  the  prickly-pears,  and  were  going  along 
very  quietly  and  pleasantly,  when  all  of  a  sudden,  without 
the  slightest  warning,  Yusef,  who  had  a  heavy  stick  in  his 
hand,  held  it  up  in  the  air  like  a  lance,  and  darted  off  furi- 
ously, shouting  as  he  went,  "Badra,  Badra  !"  Had  an  entire 
nest  of  hornets  simultaneously  lit  upon  my  horse  Saladin,  and 
stung  him  to  the  quick,  he  could  not  have  shown  more  decided 
symptoms  of  sudden  and  violent  insanity.  His  tail  stood 
straight  up,  each  particular  hair  of  his  mane  started  into  life, 
his  very  ears  seemed  to  be  torturing  themselves  out  of  his  head, 
while  he  snorted  and  pawed  the  earth  as  if  perfectly  convulsed 
with  fury.  The  next  instant  he  made  a  bound,  which  brought 
my  weight  upon  the  bridle  ;  and  this  brought  Saladin  upon 
his  hind  legs,  and  upon  his  hind-Ie&>  he  began  to  dance  about 
in  a  circle  ;  and  then  plunged  folfwaTd  again  in  the  most  ex- 
traordinary manner.  The  whole  proceeding  was  so  very  un- 
expected that  I  would  willingly  have  been  sitting  a  short 
distance  off,  a  mere  spectator  ;  it  would  have  been  so  funny 
to  see  somebody  else  mounted  upon  Saladin.  Both  my  feet 
came  out  of  the  stirrups  in  spite  of  every  effort  to  keep 
them  there  ;  and  the  bit,  being  contrived  in  some  ingenious 
manner,  tortured  the  horse's  mouth  to  such  a  degree  every 
time  I  pulled  the  bridle,  that  he  became  perfectly  frantic,  and 
I  had  to  let  go  at  last  and  seize  hold  of  his  mane  with  both 
hands.  This  seemed  to  afford  him  immediate  relief,  for  he 
bounded  off  at  an  amazing  rate.  My  hat  flew  off  at  the 
same  time,  and  the  wind  fairly  whistled  through  my  hair. 
I  was  so  busy  trying  to  hold  on  that  I  had  no  time  to  think 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MY  HORSE  SALADIN.  187 

how  very  singular  the  whole  thing  was ;  if  there  was  any 
thought  at  all  it  was  only  as  to  the  probable  issue  of  the  ad- 
venture. Away  we  dashed,  through  chapperals  of  prickly 
pear,  over  ditches  and  dikes,  out  upon  the  rolling  sand  plain  ! 
I  looked,  and  beheld  a  cloud  of  dust  approaching.  The  next 
moment  a  voice  shouted  "  Badra,  Badra  !"  the  battle-cry  of 
our  dragoman,  and  then  Yusef  himself,  whirling  his  stick  over 
his  head,  passed  like  a  shot.  "  Badra,  Badra !"  sounded  again 
in  the  distance.  Saladin  wheeled  and  darted  madly  after 
him  ;  while  I,  clutching  the  saddle  with  one  hand,  just  saved 
my  balance  in  time,  "  Badra,  Badra  !"  shrieked  Yusef,  whirl- 
ing again,  and  blinded  by  the  fury  of  battle.  "  Come  on, 
corne  on !  A  thousand  of  you  at  a  time !  Die,  villains, 
die  !"  Again  he  dashed  furiously  by,  covered  in  a  cloud  of 
dust,  and  again  he  returned  to  the  charge  ;  and  again, 
driven  to  the  last  extremity  by  the  terrific  manner  in  which 
Saladin  wheeled  around  and  followed  every  charge,  I  seized 
hold  of  the  bridle  .and  tried  all  my  might  to  stop  him,  but 
this  time  he  not  only  danced  about  on  his  hind  legs,  but 
made  broadside  charges  to  the  left  for  a  hundred  yards  on  a 
stretch,  and  then  turned  to  the  right  and  made  broadside 
charges  again  for  another  hundred  yards,  and  then  reared  up 
and  attempted  to  turn  a  back  somerset.  All  this  time  there 
was  not  the  slightest  doubt -in  my  mind  that  sooner  or  later 
I  should  be  thrown  violently  on  the  ground  and  have  my 
neck  and  several  of  my  limbs  broken.  In  vain  I  called  to 
Yusef ;  in  vain  I  threatened  to  discharge  him  on  the  spot ; 
sometimes  he  was  half  a  mile  off,  and  sometimes  he  passed 
in  a  cloud  of  dust  like  a  whirlwind,  but  I  might  just  as 
well  have  shouted  to  the  great  King  of  Day  to  stand  still  as 
to  Badra,  the  Destroyer  of  Robbers.  By  this  time,  finding  it 
impossible  to  hold  Saladin  by  the  bridle,  I  seized  him  by  the 
tail  with  one  hand,  and  by  the  mane  with  the  other,  and 
away  he  darted  faster  than  ever.  "  Badra,  Badra  !"  screamed 
a  voice  behind  ;  it  was  Yusef  in  full  chase  !  Away  we  flew, 
up  hill  and  down  hill,  over  banks  of  sand,  down  into  fearful 
hollows,  and  up  again  on  the  other  side  ;  and  still  the  battle- 
cry  of  Yusef  resounded  behind,  "Badra,  Badra  forever  !" 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MY  HORSE  SAL  A  DIN.  189 

On  we  dashed  till  the  pine  grove  loomed  up  ahead  ;  on,  and 
still  on,  till  we  were  close  up  and  the  grove  stood  like  a  wall 
of  trees  before  us.  "  Thank  Heaven,"  said  I, ' '  we'll  stop  now  ! 
Hold,  Yusef,  hold  !"  "  Badra,  Badra  !"  cried  the  frantic  horse- 
man, dashing  by  and  plunging  in  among  the  trees  :  "  Badra, 
forever  !"  Saladin  plunged  after  him,  flying  around  the  trees 
and  through  the  narrow  passes  in.  such  a  manner  that,  if  I  feared 
before  that  my  neck  would  be  broken,  I  felt  an  absolute  certain- 
ty now  that  rny  brains  would  be  knocked  out  and  both  my  eyes 
run  through  by  some  projecting  limb.  In  the  horror  of  the 
thought,  I  yelled  to  Yusef  for  God's  sake  to  stop,  that  it  was 
perfect  folly  to  be  running  about  in  this  way  like  .a  pair  of  mad- 
men ;  but  by  this  time  he  had  scoured  cut  on  th8%)lain  again, 
and  was  now  engaged  in  going  through  the  exerc%e  of  the 
Dj  creed  with  a  party  of  country  Arabs,  scattering  their  horses 
hither  and  thither,  and  flourishing  his  stick  at  their  heads 
fivery  time  he  came  within  reach.  They  seemed  to  regard 
it  as  an  excellent  joke,  and  took  it  in  very  good  part ;  but 
for  me  there  was  no  joke  about  the  business,  and  I  resolved 
as  soon  as  a  chance  occurred  to  discharge  Yusef  on  the  spot. 
Saladin,  becoming  now  a  little  tamed  by  his  frolic,  slackened 
his  pace,  so  that  I  got  my  feet  back  into  the  stirrups,  and 
obtained  some  control  over  him  There  was  a  Syrian  cafe 
and  smoke-house  not  far  off,  and  thither  I  directed  my 
course.  A  dozen  boys  ran  out  from  the  grove,  and  seized 
him  by  the  bridle,  and  at  the  same  time  Yusef  coming  up, 
both  horses  were  resigned  to  their  charge,  and  we  dismount- 
ed. "Hallo,  sir  !"  said  I  "come  this  way!"  for  to  tell  the 
truth  I  was  exceedingly  enraged  and  meant  to  discharge  him 
on  the  spot. 

"Bless  me!  what's  become  of  your  hat?"  cried  Yusef, 
greatly  surprised  ;  "I  thought  your  excellency  had  put  it  in 
your  pocket,  to  keep  it  from  blowing  away  !" 

"  The  devil  you  did  !  Send  after  it,  if  you  please  ;  it  must 
be  a  mile  back  on  that  sand  hill." 

A  boy  was  immediately  dispatched  in  search  of  the  hat. 
Meantime,  while  I  was  preparing  words  sufficiently  strong  to 
express  my  displeasure,  Yusef  declared  that  he  had  never 


190  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

seen  an  American  ride  better  than  I  did,  only  the  horse  was 
not  used  to  being  managed  in  the  American  fashion. 

"  Eh  !  Perhaps  you  allude  to  the  way  I  let  go  the  reins, 
and  seized  him  by  the  mane  ?" 

"  To  that  most  certainly  I  do  refer,"  replied  Yusef ;  "  he 
doesn't  understand  it ;  none  of  the  horses  in  Syria  understand 
it." 

"No,"  said  I,  "very  few  horses  do.  None  but  the  best 
riders  in  America  dare  to  undertake  such  a  thing  as  that. 
Did  you  see  how  I  let  my  feet  come  out  of  the  stirrups,  and 
rode  without  depending  at  all  upon  the  saddle  ?" 

"  Most  truly  I  did ;  and  exceedingly  marvelous  it  was  to 
me  that  you  were  not  thrown.  Any  but  a  very  practiced 
rider  would  have  been  flung  upon  the  ground  in  an  instant. 
But  wherefore,  0  General,  do  you  ride  in  that  dangerous 
way  ?" 

"  Because  it  lifts  the  horse  from  the  ground  and  makes  him 
go  faster.  Besides,  when  you  don't  pull  the  bridle,  of  course 
you  don't  hurt  his  mouth  or  stop  his  headway." 

Yusef  assented  to  this,  with  many  exclamations  of  surprise 
at  the  various  customs  that  prevail  in  different  parts  of  the 
world  ;  maintaining,  however,  that  the  Syrian  horses  not  be- 
ing used  to  it,  perhaps  it  would  be  better  for  me  in  view  of 
our  journey  to  learn  the  Syrian  way  of  guiding  and  controlling 
horses  ;  which  I  agreed  to  do  forthwith.  "We  then  sat  down 
and  had  some  coffee  and  chiboucks ;  and  while  I  smoked  Yu- 
sef enlightened  me  on  all  the  points  of  Syrian  horsemanship  . 
how  I  was  to  raise  my  arms  when  I  wanted  the  horse  to  go 
on,  and  hold  them  up  when  I  wanted  him  to  run,  and  let 
them  down  when  I  wanted  him  to  stop  ;  how  I  was  to  lean  a 
little  to  the  right  or  the  left,  and  by  the  slightest  motion  of  the 
bridle  guide  him  either  way  ;  how  I  was  to  lean  back  or  for- 
ward in  certain  cases,  and  never  to  trot  at  all,  as  that  was  a 
most  unnatural  and  barbarous  gait,  unbecoming  both  to  horse 
and  rider.  Upon  these  and  a  great  many  other  points  he 
descanted  learnedly,  till  the  boy  arrived  with  my  hat :  when, 
paying  all  actual  expenses  for  coffee  and  chiboucks,  we  dis- 
tributed a  small  amount  of  backshish  among  the  boys  who 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MY  HORSE  SALADIN.  191 

had  attended  our  horses,  and  mounted  once  more.  This 
time  under  the  instruction  of  Yusef,  I  soon  learned  how  to 
manage  Saladin,  and  the  ride  back  to  Beirut  was  both  pleas- 
ant and  entertaining. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE    ARAB    STORY-TELLER. 

THIS  is,  among  his  countrymen,  a  most  important  character. 
Every  body  who  has  traveled  through  Egypt  or  Syria,  will  bear 
witness  that  the  accompanying  pencil-sketch  is  a  faithful  repre-. 

sentation  of  the  class.  The  old  gen- 
tleman whose  name  is  attached  to 
it  lives  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bei- 
rut. He  is  called  Ben-Hozain,  the 
King  of  Talkers.  The  handwrit- 
ing is  his  own ;  and  you  will  admit 
that  the  name  looks  as  much  like 
Ben-Hozain  as  it  does  like  Benja- 
min Huggins,  of  which  I  think  it 
must  be  a  corruption.  Ben  is  con- 
spicuous chiefly  for  the  length  of 
his  mustache.  His  tongue  is  long, 
but  his  mustache  is  a  good  deal 
longer ;  in  fact,  it  is  such  a  mus- 
tache as  any  Arab  in  Syria,  how- 
ever distinguished,  might  be  proud 
to  swear  by.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  people  should  swear  at  all ;  but  if  they  will  swear,  it 
is  better  they  should  be  profane  on  the  subject  of  beards  or 
mustaches,  than  on  matters  of  higher  import.  By  profession 
and  inclination  Ben-Hozain  is  a  story-teller.  I  do  not  mean 
to  say  that  he  is  given  to  willful  lying,  or  to  any  malicious 
misrepresentation  of  facts ;  but  the  business  of  his  life  is  to 
entertain  the  public  of  Beirut  with  traditional  romances  of 
the  country.  Where  people  read  but  little,  they  make  up 


THE  ARAB  STORY-TELLER.  i'J> 

in  some  measure  for  the  deficiency  by  talking  and  listening  a 
good  deal.  This  is  especially  the  case  with  the  Orientals. 
In  the  absence  of  a  general  circulation  of  newspapers,  of  print- 
ed histories  of  wars,  philosophical  essays  on  man,  and  books 
of  travel,  they  must  have  professional  story-tellers,  or  romanc- 
ers ;  that  is  to  say,  men  whose  regular  business  it  is  to  deal 
in  tradition  or  fiction.  Throughout  the  whole  East  there  is 
.not  a  more  important  personage  than  the  story-teller,  or  one 
who  wields  a  greater  influence  upon  the  public  mind.  He  is 
a  walking  newspaper,  a  living  history,  a  breathing  essay,  a 
personified  book  of  travels,  which  evolves  its  stores  of  knowl- 
edge on  self-acting  principles.  As  such,  being  considered  a 
responsible  agent,  he  is  entitled  to  the  confidence  of  the  com- 
munity, and  generally  enjoys  it  to  the  fullest  extent.  The 
more  marvelous  his  stories  are,  the  greater  credit  they  obtain  ; 
the  more  rabid  his  political  satires,  the  greater  his  circulation  ; 
the  more  incomprehensible  his  theories  and  illustrations  of 
human  life,  the  profounder  his  philosophy.  He  is  always  a 
popular  character,  arid  is  indispensable  at  every  smoking-housc. 
The  grandest  Pashas  listen  to  him  with  profound  attention ; 
the  morals  which  he  points  and  the  tales  which  he  adorns 
find  their  way  even  into  the  sacred  precincts  of  the  Harem. 
In  the  highest  circles  and  in  the  lowest  his  tradition's  and 
anecdotes  are  swallowed  with  avidity.  Men  who  have  lis- 
tened for  years  to  the  same  stories  and  the  same  jokes,  con- 
tinue to  listen  for  years  again  with  undiminished  delight  and 
always  applaud  at  the  same  points  and  laugh  at  the  same 
strokes  of  wit.  No  child  of  ten  years,  in  our  cold  clime  of 
common  sense,  could  devour  his  first  fairy-tale  or  ghost-story 
with  half  the  delight  that  an  Arab  grandfather  devours  the  oft- 
told  romances  of  the  old  story-teller 

The  way  I  happened  to  take  Ben-Hozain's  portrait  was 
this :  One  afternoon  I  rode  out  with  our  dragoman  to  the  pine 
grove,  where  the  towns-people  go  to  smoke  the  narguilla  and 
display  their  feats  of  horsemanship,  and  where  I  had  already 
displayed  some  feats  of  horsemanship  myself.  It  was  shady 
and  pleasant  under  the  trees,  and  I  dismounted  and  amused 
myself  taking  a  view  of  a  Syrian  coffee-house,  near  which 

I 


194  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST 

were  seated  a  number  of  Turks,  Greeks,  and  Arabs,  in  all 
their  picturesque  varieties  of  costume.  An  old  man  sat  in 
the  midst  of  the  group,  chanting  at  the  highest  pitch  of  his 
voice  the  famous  romance  of  the  White  Princess  and  the 
Grand  Vizier.  Sometimes  in  the  excitement  of  the  love  parts 
he  screamed,  and  sometimes  pretended  to  faint ;  and  when  he 
was  depicting  the  more  tragic  parts,  where  there  was  murder 
and  suicide,  he  howled  like  a  hyena,  and  counterfeited  all  the 
agonies  of  death  in  a  most,  thrilling  manner.  When  he  got 
over  the  principal  difficulties,  he  moderated  down  into  a  spe- 
cies of  billing  and  cooing,  winking  and  ogling,  that  reminded 
me  forcibly  of  representations  that  I  had  seen  of  the  passions 
in  the  Astor  Place  Opera  House.  I  could  not  but  think  that 
nature  had  intended  Ben-Hozain  to  grace  the  boards  of  that 
establishment,  and  delight  an  appreciating  audience  of  the 
Upper  Ten,  his  delineation  of  the  passions  was  so  exquisitely 
extravagant.  Struck  with  the  picturesque  raggedness  of  his 
costume,  and  the  length  of  his  grizzled  mustache,  I  began  to 
sketch  him.  Gradually  the  listeners  dropped  off  one  by  one, 
and  gathered  around  me  to  look  into  the  mysteries  of  the  art. 
All  kinds  of  queer  remarks  were  made,  of  which  Yusef  gave 
me  a  running  interpretation.  "  That's  Ben-Hozain,"  said 
one  ;  '-'don't  you  see  how  the  Howadji  puts  down  his  nose?" 
"  And  his  eyes  !"  adds  another.  "And  his  mustache  !"  cries 
a  third.  "  Tahib !"  Good.  "Adjaib!"  Wonderful.  "What 
a  sublim.e  genius  the  Howadji  has  !"  "  Tell  Ben-Hozain." 
said  I,  "to  come  a  little  closer,  and  you  shall  see  him  on  this 
paper  just  as  he  lives  and  breathes  !"  "  Adjaib  !"  Wonder- 
ful. "  This  way,  Hozain ;  the  Howadji  wants  you!"  But  Ho- 
zain  had  no  notion  of  being  interrupted  in  his  story.  He  went 
on  even  louder  than  before  on  the  subject  of  the  White  Prin- 
cess. "By  Allah!"  cried  the  Arabs,  "he  shall  come  !  Hozain 
must  be  done  on  paper!"  With  which  two  stout  fellows  ran 
over  to  where  he  sat,  seized  him  on  each  side  by  the  mus- 
tache, and  hauled  him  up  before  me.  He  was  the  most  com- 
ical and  good-humored  old  gentleman  imaginable  ;  his  face 
was  covered  with  wrinkles  and  the  stubbles  of  a  white  beard, 
and  he  seemed  quite  lelighted  at  affording  merriment  to  the 


THE  ARAB  STORY-TELLER.  195 

crowd.  Here  you  have  him  just  as  he  sat,  with  his  mustache 
in  full ;  his  eyes  twinkling  with  fun,  and  a  tradition  in  every 
wrinkle  of  his  mouth.  So  pleased  was  he  with  his  appear- 
ance on  paper  that  he  put  his  name  to  the  sketch.  The  Arabs 
were  all  in  ecstasies,  and  begged  me  to  take  them  one  and 
all ;  but,  there  being  about  thirty  of  them,  I  had  to  decline, 
on  the  plea  of  having  important  business  to  attend  to  that 
evening. 

As  I  was  going  away,  the  old  story-teller  looked  wistfully 
at  me.  "Well,"  said  I,  "what  do  you  want  now,  my  friend?" 

"  JBackshish,"  said  he. 

"  For  what  ?  I'm  going  to  put  you  in  a  book.  Isn't  that 
backshish  enough  ?" 

*"  But  I'll  never  see  the  book.     I'd  rather  have  the  back' 
shish  now." 

"  That's  strange,  Hozain.  Have  you  no  pride  in  the  honor 
of  the  thing?  Think  of  the  fame  it  will  give  you!  Ben- 
Hozain  will  be  known  in  the  remotest  corners  of  America." 

"  Ah,  Grand  Seignor,  Sultan  of  the  United  States,  Ben- 
Hozain  is  already  the  victim  of  fame.  For  more  than  forty 
years  have  I  told  stories  for  the  public  good ;  Sultans  have 
praised  me,  Pashas  have  applauded  my  romances,  beautiful 
ladies  have  wept  over  my  love  passages,  yet  here  I  am,  as 
you  see,  with  scarce  a  rag  on  my  back.  When  I'm  dead,  I 
don't  know  that  they'll  take  the  trouble  to  bury  me." 

"Well,  Hozain,  I'm  sorry  to  hear  so  bad  an  account  of  your 
people.  In  America  we  take  a  great  deal  of  trouble  about 
our  benefactors  after  they  die.  We  often  spend  more  money  in 
feasting  over  their  graves  and  celebrating  their  virtues  than 
would  have  made  them  comfortable  during  life.  Your  patrons 
must  be  very  ungrateful,  and  as  a  mark  of  my  contempt  for 
such  ingratitude,  I  shall  give  you  the  backshish  you  require. 
How  much  will  it  take  to  make  you  happy  ?" 

"  Only  two  piasters,  0  sublime  Howadji !  On  that  amount 
of  money,  Ben-Hozain  can  be  the  happiest  man  upon  earth, 
for  he  can  drink  the  Coffee  of  Delight  and  smoke  the  Pipe  of 
Content  for  a  week  !" 

"  Very  well,  take  this  piece  of  silver,  five  piasters  (twenty 


196  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

two  cents).  And  remember  (said  I,  proudly,)  that  in  America 
we  never  neglect  men  who  live  by  their  talents.  We  sub- 
scribe to  their  newspapers,  read  their  books,  profit  by  their 
labors,  and  when  they  are  dead  pay  them — a  great  deal  of 
respect." 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE    CEDARS    OP    LEBANON. 

IT  was  our  good  fortune  to  become  acquainted  during  our 
brief  sojourn  in  Beirut,  with  a  young  English  gentleman,  chief 
officer  of  an  Oriental  Steamer,  who  having  a  couple  of  months 
to  spare,  agreed  to-join  us  in  our  tour  through  Syria.  His  good- 
humor  and  intelligence  rendered  him  an  invaluable  acquisition 
to  our  party. 

Leaving  Beirut  in  the  latter  part  of  November,  we  passed, 
not  far  beyond  the  suburbs,  the  spot  pointed  out  as  the  scene 
of  the  remarkable  battle  between  St.  George  and  the  dragon, 
and  soon  after  crossed  the  pass  of  Xerxes.  The  road  lay  along 
the  sea  beach,  which  extends  to  the  rocky  point,  five  or  six 
miles  from  the  town,  called  the  Roman  Pass.  On  the  rocka 
to  the  right  of  the  road  are  some  Latin  inscriptions  carved  in 
tablets,  and  in  some  places  the  remains  of  basso-relievos. 
Farther  on  a  few  miles  we  descended  into  the  beautiful  little 
valley  of  El  Kelb,  or  Dog  River,  where  stand  the  remains  of  a 
bridge  built  by  the  Romans.  Silk  is  manufactured  to  some 
extent  in  this  country,  and  our  road  frequently  lay  through 
flourishing  plantations  of  mulberry.  The  ground  is  cultivated 
in  a  rude  manner  most  of  the  way  along  the  shores  of  Syria, 
and  we  passed  through  many  small  fields  of  sugar-cane,  irri- 
gated by  water  from  the  mountain  streams,  which  is  conducted 
in  narrow  walled  ditches  through  the  fields.  Covered  as  the 
whole  face  of  the  country  is  with  stones,  yet  the  tilled  parts 
are  apparently  fertile  and  yield  abundant  crops.  On  the 
slopes  of  Mount  Lebanon  are  many  small  villages,  similar  to 
those  met  with  throughout  Syria.  The  houses  are  but  one 
story  high,  built  of  stone,  with  flat  mud  roofs,  and  a£  a  dis- 


198  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST 

tance  have  the  appearance  of  mud  boxes  put  out  on  the  hills 
to  dry.  The  village  of  Zuk,  which  we  passed  at  a  distance, 
is  prettily  situated,  but  is  like  all  other  Syrian  villages,  a 
wretched  abode  of  men,  women,  and  vermin.  We  met  on  the 
road  several  of  those  strange  beings  the  Druses,  a  religious 
sect  wearing  a  costume  peculiar  to  themselves.  The  head- 
dress of  the  women  points  upward  like  an  immense  horn, 
about  two  feet  long ;  the  men  wore  an  indescribable  dress  of 
ragged  robes,  picturesque  at  first  sight,  but  not  to  be  too 
closely  scrutinized.  The  Druses  inhabit  the  country  chiefly 
around  Mount  Lebanon  and  the  neighborhood,  and  sprung  orig- 
inally from  the  Kamiathians,  one  of  the  Mohammedan  sects 
We  met  also  during  the  afternoon  several  Pashas  and  their 
retinues  of  servants  coming  from  Damascus  and  Tripoli,  and 
occasionally  traveling  merchants  with  their  caravans  of  mer- 
chandise, bound  to  Beirut  from  Aleppo  and  other  interior 
towns.  About  four  miles  beyond  the  valley  of  El  Keib,  we 
came  to  another  beautiful  little  valley,  sheltered  by  high 
mountains,  running  down  to  the  sea-shore,  where  there  is  a 
small  harbor,  which  our  guide  informed  us  was  occupied  by 
the  British  forces  after  the  storming  of  Beirut  in  1841. 
Here  is  situated  the  village  of  Juna  ;  and  the  mountain  sides 
are  dotted  with  small  houses  and  terraced  with  stone  walls  tc 
a  considerable  height,  the  most  unpromising  patches  of  tillable 
ground  being  thus  made  available.  Yusef  soon  had  our  tent 
up  in  the  midst  of  a  young  orchard  of  mulberry  trees  ;  and  it 
was  not  long  before  we  had  on  our  table  a  good,  supper  of 
chicken,  rice,  preserves,  and  coffee  ;  for,  in  justice  to  our  drag- 
oman, I  must  not  omit  to  mention  that  he  fed  us  in  excellent 
style,  and  gave  us  so  many  luxuries  in  the  way  of  tables, 
bedsteads,  chairs,  napkins,  and  different  courses  of  plate,  that 
the  poor  mules  were  quite  laden  down,  and  we  were  obliged 
to  protest  against  this  effeminate  style  of  living,  especially  as 
we  soon  found  it  to  be  at  the  expense  of  time,  an  important 
object  with  us  at  this  season.  Contrasted  with  the  sort  of 
traveling  to  which  I  had  been  accustomed  in  California,  it 
was  ridiculously  civilized,  and  made  me  feel  much  less  inde- 
pendent than  when  I  coursed  through  the  plains  of  the  Ojitas 


THE  CEDARS  OF  LEBANON.         199 

and  San  Jose  with  nothing  but  my  mule  and  saddle-bags,  and 
slept  under  the  trees.  Coffee  and  chiboucks*  finished  the 
evening.  The  clouds  had  been  threatening  for  some  time, 
and,  before  we  were  comfortably  in  bed,  they  began  to  pour 
down  upon  us  such  a  torrent  of  rain  that  we  soon  found  the 
tent  but  a  poor  protection,  and  the  wind  blew  in  gusts  so  sud- 
den and  violent  that  we  momentarily  expected  to  be  covered 
up  in  a  ruin  of  canvas.  At  last  we  had  to  make  a  retreat 
to  a  khan  down  on  the  beach,  whefe  we  were  fortunate  enough 
to  get  a  tolerable  room.  The  khans,  or  houses  for  the  accom- 
modation of  travelers  throughout  Syria,  are  usually  large  stone 
buildings,  without  furniture,  and  filthy  to  an  extreme.  Of 
course  Frank  travelers  only  resort  to  them  when  the  weathei 
does  not  permit  of  living  in  tents  ;  and  many  prefer  suffering 
from  cold  and  rain  to  encountering  the  vermin  with  which 
the  khans  are  infested.  It  is  always  best,  however,  when  the 
season  is  at  all  unfavorable,  to  sleep  in  houses  ;  for  whatever 
may  be  the  inconveniences  of  living  among  mules,  asses,  fleas, 
and  smoking  Arabs,  they  are  not  so  great  as  those  of  sickness 
in  a  foreign  land,  where  no  assistance  can  be  had.  Many  a 
traveler  has  laid  his  bones  in  Syria  in  consequence  of  wet 
nights  and  sunshiny  days.  We  here  took  the  precaution,  as 
in  all  future  cases,  to  have  the  firSt  layer  of  fleas  swept  out, 
leaving  the  partially  dormant  layer  below  ;  and  thus  we  com- 
menced our  first  night  of  Syrian  travel.  For  hours  I  lay 
musing  over  the  many  scenes  I  had  passed  through  during 
the  last  few  years,  but  the  fitful  moaning  of  the  wind,  mingled 
with  the  measured  break  of  the  surf  upon  the  beach,  at  length 
lulled  me  to  sleep,  and  I  slept  well  by  their  familiar  music. 
It  rained  hard  most  of  the  night.  Toward  morning  the  wind 
had  moderated,  yet  several  small  vessels  in  the  port  hove  up 
their  anchors  and  stood  out  to  sea  as  if  they  expected  worse 
weather.  This  was  not  a  cheering  prospect  for  our  contem- 
plated tour.  We  had (•iu  starting  from  the  khan,  the  first 
trial  of  patience  to  which,  in  common  with  all  who  travel  in 
the  East,  we  were  doomed  to  be  frequently  subjected — I  mean 
the  loss  of  time.  The  Arabs,  Turks,  and  indeed  all  the 
Oriental  races,  are  singularly  independent  of  time ;  m  fact, 


^00  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

with  the  exception  of  its  use  in  estimating  distances,  they 
appear  to  rfave  no  knowledge  of  its  value  whatever.  We 
were  to  have  started  at  six,  but  it  was  nine  before  we  got 
rightly  under  way. 

Our  Arab  muleteers  were  slow,  and  although  Yusef  swore 
himself  completely  out  of  breath,  and  to  the  best  of  my  knowl- 
edge entirely  exhausted  the  vocabulary  of  strong  expressions 
in  Arabic,  they  made  no  effort  to  hurry  the  matter  in  the 
least.  On  the  contrary,  I  Was  rather  struck  with  the  resigned 
manner  in  which  they  bore  his  violent  reproaches  and  fero- 
cious denunciations,  and  the  cool  air  with  which  they  puffed 
their  chiboucks  after  the  slightest  exertion.  On  the  beach,  as 
we  passed  along  through  the  village  of  Juna,  we  observed 
the  wreck  of  a  vessel — one  of  the  many  driven  ashore  on  this 
coast  every  winter.  In  Beirut  we  were  told  that  not  less  than 
eight  or  ten  were  lost  in  this  way  every  winter ;  the  coast  of 
Syria  from  Tripoli  to  Damietta  affording  no  secure  harbor  for 
shipping.  The  road  beyond  Juna  to  the  next  point  or  pass  we 
found  rocky  and  precipitous,  much  like  what  we  had  passed, 
only  still  more  tiresome.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that 
roads  in  Syria  are  not  like  the  roads  we  are  accustomed  to 
at  home,  which,  bad  as  they  are  compared  with  the  roads 
through  Italy,  have  yet  some  pretensions  to  the  name  ;  but 
here  to  dignify  them  by  such  a  name  is  a  complete  perversion 
of  the  word.  The  bridle  paths  of  Switzerland  are  magnificent 
highways  compared  with  them,  and  in  thus  speaking  of  them 
I  merely  adopt  the  ordinary  language  of  travelers.  I  have 
seen  nothing  like  them  except  in  crossing  the  Isthmus  of  Pa- 
nama ;  imagiue  that  Isthmus  extended  an  indefinite  number 
of  miles,  and  you  have  some  idea  of  Syrian  roads.  Fortu 
nately,  the  horses  of  this  country  are  remarkable  for  their 
sureness  of  foot  and  powers  of  endurance. 

Not  far  beyond  Juna  is  the  bed  of  a  river  called  El  Mah- 
milton,  over  which  is  the  arch  of  ai»old  Roman  bridge,  con- 
spicuous for  its  massive  proportions  and  fine  architectural 
style.  Nothing  remained  of  the  river  but  its  bed,  most  of  the 
streams  throughout  the  country  having  been  dried  by  the  long 
and  uninterrupted  drought  for  the  last  eight  months.  In  the 


THE  CEDARS  OF  LEBANON. 


201 


winter,  this  stream  is  no  doubt  swollen  to  something  like  a 
river  by  the  mountain  torrents,  although  in  speaking  of  rivers 
here,  as  indeed  throughout  Europe  and  the  East,  it  is  not  to 
be  supposed  that  what  we  call  rivers  in  America  are  meant 
Every  little  creek  in  the  Old  World  is  dignified  by  the  name 
of  river,  and  every  duck-pond  is  called  a  lake. 

It  would  be  necessary  to  go  beyond  the  limits  of  a  mere 
journal  of  incidents  to  give  an  account  of  the  country  for  the 
next  three  days.  We  stopped  at  Djbel,  Batroum,  and  Tripoli, 
long  enough  to  see  each  town  pretty  thoroughly,  and  make 
some  sketches,  and  on  the  third  day  commenced  our  ascent 
of  Mount  Lebanon. 


CASTLE   OF   DJBEL 


At  Aheden,  claimed  by  some  authorities  as  the  Garden  of 
Eden,  we  were  obliged  to  take  a  guide,  the  path  being  alto- 
gether obliterated  in  some  of  the  table-grounds  by  recent  floods 
of  rain.  As  we  approached  the  cedars  we  went  down  into 
a  ravine,  and  soon  after  passed  along  the  ledge  of  a  profound 
gorge,  extending  to  the  depth  of  several  hundred  feet.  A  vil- 


202  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

lage,  distant  by  Syrian  measurement  two  hours  from  Ahedsn. 
lies  on  the  left  of  the  gorge,  not  far  from  which  is  a  celebrated 
grotto,  visited  by  many  of  the  pilgrims  as  a  place  of  peculiar 
interest.  Our  time,  however,  being  limited,  we  pushed  on, 
and  in  another  hour  entered  the  celebrated  grove  of  cedars — 
a  mere  patch  of  green  in  the  bare  and  desert  hollow  of  the 
mountains.  It  was  cold  and  gloomy  within  the  shadowy  in- 
closure,  and  quite  deserted.  Not  a  living  thing  was  to  be 
seen,  and  all  was  silent  as  death,  save  an  occasional  plaintive 
note  from  some  lonesome  bird  among  the  branches.  Entering 
by  a  ravine  below,  we  ascended  some  distance  among  the 
younger  growth  of  trees  till  we  reached  an  elevation  a  few 
hundred  yards  higher  up,  upon  which  stands  a  rude  stone 
chapel,  built  by  some  of  the  Frank  monks,  in  the  midst  of  the 
ancient  grove,  and  still  used  by  Christian  pilgrims  in  their  an- 
nual visits  of  devotion.  There  are  twelve  veteran  and  storm- 
beaten  trees  pointed  out  as  the  original  cedars  of  Lebanon  ; 
and  the  best  authorities,  I  believe,  concur  in  admitting  these 
to  be  the  veritable  cedars  referred  to  in  the  Scriptures.  Cer- 
tainly they  bear  every  indication  of  extraordinary  antiquity  ; 
and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  they  existed  in  very  re- 
mote ages.  From  these  have  sprung,  during  the  lapse  of  cen- 
turies, the  suiTounding  grove,  consisting  of  nearly  four  hundred 
trees  of  various  degrees  of  antiquity,  but  all  of  the  same  spe- 
cies. The  chapel  was  quite  deserted,  the  priests  having  left 
some  days  before  for  the  more  genial  climate  of  Tripoli.  It  is 
the  custom  for  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  vicinity  to  depart  for 
the  valleys  below  on  the  approach  of  winter,  which  is  very 
severe  and  protracted  at  this  elevation.  Our  guide  pointed 
out  the  height  to  which  the  snow  reached  during  the  previous 
winter  on  some  of  the  trees,  and  we  judged  it  to  be  not  less 
than  twenty  feet.  It  often  covers  the  walls  of  the  chapel  en- 
tirely up  to  the  roof,  completely  blocking  up  all  means  of  in- 
gress and  exit.  At  such  a  time,  of  course,  it  would  be  very 
difficult,  if  not  altogether  impracticable,  to  exist  in  this  region; 
but,  if  we  are  to  credit  the  strange  histories  related  to  us  by 
our  Arabs,  it  has  been  done  by  the  aid  of  miracles,  and  may 
bo  done  again.  Eleas,  one  of  our  interpreters,  assured  us  that 


THE  CEDARS  OF  LEBANON.          20c 

there  was  once  a  dark  man  who  came  over  from  a  distant 
country,  and  who,  in  consequence  of  having  committed  a  great 
sin,  was  resolved  to  expiate  his  offense  by  starving  himself  to 
death  in  the  hollow  of  one  of  the  old  cedars.  There  he  fixed 
his  abode,  and  prayed  in  secret,  and  such  was  the  efficacy 
of  his  prayers,  that  he  subsisted  for  two  years  on  nourishing 
waters  that  were  sent  down  to  him  from  the  branches  of  the 
tree  by  miraculous  power ;  and  he  suffered  neither  from  heat 
nor  from  cold,  but  at  the  expiration  of  his  voluntary  penance 
took  his  departure,  and  returned  a  happy  man  to  his  own 
country.  To  render  the  story  strictly  credible,  the  hollow  was 
pointed  out  to  us,  and  Eleas,  who  was  a  Christian  of  the  Greek 
Church,  said  his  prayers  under  the  shadow  of  the  old  cedar. 
With  other  strange  narratives  of  a  similar  kind  the  simple 
natives  entertained  us,  while  we  sat  down  under  the  wide- 
branching  trees,  spread  our  cloth  upon-  the  ground,  and  re- 
freshed ourselves  after  the- ride  from  Aheden. 

As  soon  as  we  had  finished  our  repast,  we  set  out  to  make 
a  more  thorough  examination  of  the  ancient  cedars,  or  the 
original  twelve,  in  which  the  chief  interest  is  centred.  It 
required  no  great  research  to  convince  us  of  their  great  age, 
•which  is  strikingly  apparent  in  their  gnarled  and  time-worn 
trunks.  Many  of  the  branches  have  become  sapless,  and  art- 
fast  rotting  away  ;  others  are  broken  off  by  the  force  of  many 
tempests,  or  have  fallen  of  their  own  accord  from  sheer  old 
age ;  new  ones  have  sprung  out,  and  young  shoots  continue 
to  supply  the  ravages  worked  by  time  ;  the  trunks  are  of  vast 
circumference,  and  are  composed  of  divers  parts  consolidated, 
some  of  them  perhaps  the  growth  of  different  ages.  All  the 
old  trees  and  many  of  the  younger  ones  have  large  pieces  cut 
out  of  their  trunks,  upon  which  arc  carved  the  names  of  visitors 
who  from  time  to  time  have  been  attracted  to  this  remote 
region.  Among  these  I  noticed  the  name  of  Lamartine,  said 
to  have  been  carved  by  an  Arab  "while  the  great  sentimental- 
ist was  going  into  ecstasies  in  his  comfortable  quarters  below. 
There  were  several  American  names,  but  none  of  veiy  recent 
date — only  two  within  two  years.  In  the  register  which  is 
kept  on  the  altar  of  the  chapel  I  saw  several  English,  French, 


204  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

and  Oriental  names.  Some  of  the  remarks  were  curious 
enough.  One  gentleman,  who  probably  imagined  the  cedars 
to  be  yellow  or  pink,  with  crimson  tops,  like  those  in  the  pan- 
oramas, says  he  visited  the  Cedars  of  Lebanon,  and  was 
greatly  disappointed.  Another  traveler  states  that  he  could 
see  much  larger  und  finer  trees  at  home  without  trouble  or 
expense.  What  any  body  expects  to  see  except  the  Cedars 
of  Lebanon,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  conceive.  One  does  not  travel 
three  days  over  bad  roads  to  witness  a  raree-show,  or  see  sim 
ply  a  few  cedar-trees  because  they  are  cedars  ;  but,  if  I  under- 
stand it,  the  object  is  to  see  the  Cedars  of  Lebanon  mentioned 
in  the  Scriptures  ;  and  there  they  are  without  doubt.  They 
can  be  seen  by  any  body  who  has  eyes  to  see.  It  is  true 
they  are  only  cedars,  but  they  are  very  wonderful,  as  well 
from  their  great  antiquity  as  from  the  Scriptural  interest 
attached  to  them. 

Messrs.  Lansing  and  Burnett,  .American  missionaries  at 
Damascus,  visited  this  region  last  summer,  and  carefully 
counted  the  cedars,  both  old  and  young.  They  also  made 
some  measurements  of  a  very  interesting  character.  The 
entire  grove,  according  to  their  estimate,  consists  of  four  hun 
dred  trees ;  the  average  circumference  of  the  original  twelve 
is  about  twenty-five  feet,  and  one  was  found  to  measure  up- 
ward of  thirty.  The  trunks  of  the  more  ancient  cedars  do 
not  rise  to  any  great  height  before  they  branch  out  into  enor- 
mous limbs,  commencing  ten  or  fifteen  feet  from  the  ground, 
some  perhaps  twenty  feet.  The  branches  are  very  crooked 
and  tortuous,  partly  decayed,  as  before  stated,  and  gnarled 
with  the  frosts  and  tempests  of  ages.  It  is  said  that  no  othex 
specimens  of  the  kind  are  found  in  any  part  of  the  world,  ex- 
cept such  as  have  been  transplanted  from  this  grove;  but 
Messrs.  Lansing  and  Burnett  ascertained  to  their  entire  satis- 
faction that  other  cedars  of  the  same  species  do  exist  in  the 
mountains  of  Syria.  The  wood  is  white,  and  has  a  pleasant 
perfume ;  and  to  this  odor  reference  is  made  in  the  Scriptures. 
It  is  not  stronger,  however,  than  the  scent  of  the  ordinary  red 
codar,  perhaps  less  apparent. 

From  the  front  of  the  chapel  there  is  a  very  fine  view  of 


THE  CEDARS  OF  LEBANON.         206 

the  valley  below,  extending  entirely  to  the  sea.  The  reefs 
opposite  Ras  Tripoli  are  distinctly  visible  on  a  clear  day. 
Computed  by  the  time  required  for  the  ascent,  the  distance 
must  be  about  thirty  miles  from  the  town  of  Tripoli.  From 
Beirut  it  requires  three  days,  at  the  usual  rate  of  travel,  to 
reach  the  cedars,  but  it  is  not  difficult  to  accomplish  the  task 
in  less.  To  Baalbek,  across  the  valley  of  Bukaa,  on  the  other 
side  of  Mount  Lebanon,  is  another  good  day's  ride. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


BAALBEK. 


BEFORE  we  left  that  celebrated  grove,  we  provided  oui- 
selves  with  a  good  supply  of  relics.  At  first  we  were  loth 
to  touch  a  single  twig  of  those  sacred  old  trees,  which  had 
braved  the  tempests  for  centuries ;  but  our  guides  told  us 
that  thousands  of  native  pilgrims  come  from  all  parts  of  the 
country  every  year,  and  carry  away  whole  loads  of  seeds  and 
branches,  without  the  least  compunctions  of  conscience ;  in 
fact,  that  the  pruning  did  them  good.  With  such  a  prece- 
dent, made  more  certain  by  the  aid  of  a  little  backshish,  we 
followed  the  example  of  other  pilgrims,  and  got  the  Arabs  to 
cut  us  some  walking-sticks  and  knock  down  some  burrs,  both 
of  which  I  hope  to  see  flourishing  in  Washington  one  of  these 
days. 

From  the  Cedars  up  to  the  summit  of  Mount  Lebanon,  by 
the  way  cf  the  pass  that  leads  into  the  valley  of  Bukaa,  is 
nearly  two  hours  of  very  laborious  climbing.  It  was  not  long 
before  sunset  when  we  reached  the  highest  part  of  the  ridge. 
Our  horses  were  pretty  well  tired  down,  and  ourselves  rather 
the  worse  of  the  wear,  having  walked  most  of  the  way  from 
Aheden.  The  altitude  of  this  part  of  the  mountain  we  sup- 
posed to  be  about  six  thousand  feet.  As  yet  there  was  no 
Biiow  visible  on  any  part  of  it.  The  air  was  sharp  and  clear, 
but  not  unpleasantly  cold.  Tired  as  we  were,  after  our  hard 
day's  journey,  we  could  not  but  stop  a  while  to  enjoy  the 
view.  It  was  really  one  of  those  splendid  sights  which  even 
a  traveler,  whose  life  is  spent  among  the  beauties  of  nature, 
is  privileged  to  enjoy  but  once  or  twice  in  the  course  of  ex- 
istence. On  Ihe  one  hand  the  valley  of  Aheden,  through 


BAALBEK.  207 

which  we  had  been  ascending  for  nearly  two  days,  stretched 
down  till  it  appeared  to  mingle  with  the  mists  of  the  ocean 
at' the  shores  of  Tripoli ;  on  the  other  the  magnificent  plain 
of  Bukaa,  bounded  in  the  distance  by  the  mountains  of  Anti- 
Lebanon,  at  the  base  of  which,  sparkling  in  the  rays  of  the 
setting  sun,  were  distinctly  visible  the  minaret  of  the  mosque 
and  the  ruins  of  Baalbek  ;  while  far  down  in  the  valley  of 
Bukaa,  to  the  right  as  we  faced  the  plain,  gleamed  the  bright 
waters  of  the  Litany,  and  across  the  deep  gorges  at  our  feet 
were  cast  the  shadows  of  the  lofty  peaks  of  Lebanon — a  vast 
and  impressive  scene,  within  a  single  sweep  of  the  eye,  sterile, 
waste,  and  desolate,  but  sublime  in  its  weird  simplicity.  It 
brought  to  mind,  with  the  vividness  of  reality,  those  grand 
pictures  of  primeval  scenery  drawn  in  the  sacred  writings ; 
and  the  lapse  of  ages  seemed  now  but  the  lapse  of  years, 
passed  in  a  dream.  It  was  like  returning  after  an  absence  to 
some  long  known  haunt  of  youth  ;  for  the  words  of  the  sacred 
book,  the  first  impressed  upon  the  memory,.were  here  a  sub- 
lime reality. 

As  we  descended  toward  the  plain  of  Bukaa,  driving  our 
horses  before  us,  my  self-willed  old  charger,  Saladin,  took  a 
notion  not  to  be  driven  down,  so  he  walked  up  on  all  possible 
occasions.  In  vain  I  hurled  missiles  at  his  head ;  in  vain  I 
begged  him  not  to  be  foolish  ;  in  vain  I  tried  to  make  him 
understand  that  he  was  only  doubling  the  distance,  as  he 
would  eventually  be  compelled  to  turn  back  again  ;  it  was 
all  to  no  purpose.  Up  again  to  the  top  of  Mount  Lebanon 
he  would  go,  after  the  most  persevering  resistance,  half  way 
down  ;  and  at  last  he  ran  away  full  speed  over  rocks  that 
seemed  quite  inaccessible.  I  had  long  suspected  Saladin  of 
a  sentimental  turn  of  mind,  and  was  now  convinced  that  he 
only  wanted  to  enjoy  another  view  of  the  sunset ;  but  it  was 
too  late,  the  sun  had  disappeared  and  it  was  fast  getting  dark. 
80  I  darted  after  him,  and  the  chase  became  quite  exciting. 
Never  skipped  a  goat  with  more  agility  than  that  slab-sideoT 
old  horse.  It  was  fully  half  an  hour  before  I  could  catch 
him,  and  it  was  then  so  dark  that  I  found  myself  lost. 
Neither  muleteers  nor  guides  were  to  be  seen.  I  shouted  till 


208  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

I  could  shout  no  longer,  but  there  was  no  answer.  At  last, 
after  tumbling,  sliding,  and  jumping  down  precipices,  till  it 
seemed  as  if  I  had  reached  the  sloping-off  place  of  the  world, 
I  heard  the  voices  of  my  friends  below.  It  was  evident  we 
must  spend  the  night  here,  for  Baalbek  was  still  six  hours 
distant.  The  guides  and  muleteers  were  nowhere  to  be  seen, 
and  we  condoled  ourselves  with  the  notion  that  they  had  run 
off  with  our  baggage.  After  wandering  about  in  the  dark 
for  some  time  we^came  to  the  ruins  of  a  village,  without  ra 
living  soul  about  it.  In  the  hollow  a  little  below  the  ruins 
we  encamped  for  the  night,  our  missing  Arabs  having  at 
length  made  their  appearance.  There  is  a  cave  here,  said 
to  have  been  not  more  than  a  few  years  since  the  abode  of  a 
large  band  of  those  mountain  robbers  who  infest  the  country. 
Of  late,  however,  they  have  not  found  their  business  profit- 
able, and  they  only  commit  occasional  depredations.  Our. 
dragoman  said  he  could  put  to  flight  any  gang  of  robbers  in. 
Syria  single-handed,  such  was  the  terror  in  which  he  was 
held.  He  certainly  carried  pistols  and  knives  enough  about 
his  person  to  kill  a  good  many ;  but  it  was  not  at  all  dan- 
gerous to  be  shot  at  by  Yusef,  for  I  saw  him  shoot  a  good 
many  times  and  never  knew  him  to  hit  any  thing.  The  cave 
was  a  very  nice  place  for  robbers,  pleasantly  situated,  with 
large  trees  in  front,  and  a  fine  spring  of  water  within  a  hun- 
dred yards.  At  present  it  is  a  place  of  resort  for  goats  and 
benighted  travelers.  We  lit  a  fire  near  the  entrance,  erected 
our  tent  under  some  fine  old  chestnut  trees,  and  slept  soundly 
all  night  in  spite  of  the  cold,  which  was  very  keen.  Next 
morning  there  was  snow  visible  on  the  tops  of  the  mountains. 
Yusef  having  threatened  to  whip  all  the  Arabs  again  (for 
he  had  already  whipped  them  two  or  three  times),  got  them 
to  work  at  an  early  hour,  and,  by  the  force  of  much  talk  and 
desperate  flourishing  of  the  stick,  they  were  all  ready  with 
their  mules  as  soon  as  we  had  finished  breakfast.  Pushing 
*on  rapidly  for  Baalbek,  we  were  soon  made  sensible  of  the 
deceptive  nature  of  distances  from  a  very  high  point  of  view 
On  the  preceding  evening,  from  the  summit  of  Mount  Leb- 
anon, the  plain  of  Bukaa,  reaching  to  the  ruins  of  Baalbek, 


BAALBEK.  209 

appeared  to  commence  at  the  place  of  our  encampment,  and 
to  continue  with  an  almost  unbroken  surface  to  the  base  of 
the  Anti-Lebanon  range ;  but  now  it  seemed  as  if  we  were 
scarcely  more  than  half  way  down.  The  road  from  the  ruined 
village  is  through  a  very  rocky  and  broken  region,  studded 
over  with  patches  of  scrub-oak  bushes,  and  altogether  uncul- 
tivated. The  only  signs  of  habitation  we  saw  were  a  few 
miserable  huts  rudely  built  of  loose  stones,  the  back  part  be- 
ing against  a  hill  or  mound  of  earth,  and  the  front  barely 
high  enough  to  admit  of  a  doorway.  These  wretched  hovels 
are  inhabited  by  a  swarthy  and  half-savage  race  of  Arabs, 
who  live  on  the  flesh  and  milk  of  goats,  many  flocks  of  which 
we  saw  browsing  among  the  rocks.  In  fact,  goats,  sheep, 
dogs,  men,  women,  and  children  seem  to  live  together  upon 
terms  of  perfect  equality.  They  were  the  most  uncivilized 
people  we  had  yet  seen,  and  we  had  seen  a  good  many  on  the 
road  from  Tripoli. 

It  was  evident  that  but  few  travelers  in  our  style  of  cos- 
tume had  been  in  the  habit  of  passing,  from  the  apparent  as- 
tonishment which  our  appearance  created.  Some  women  at 
one  of  the  huts  laughed  so  immoderately  that  we  were  in 
duced  to  ask  them,  through  our  dragoman,  what  was  the  oc 
casiori  of  their  mirth.  Why,  said  they,  we  never  saw  people 
before  with  saucepans  on  their  heads  for  turbans.  Do  the 
Christians  all  wear  saucepans  ?  The  shape  of  our  trowsers 
also  afforded  much  merriment.  "  Don't  you  burst  when  you 
sit  down  ?"  they  asked,  and  this  sally  of  wit  was  so  irresist 
ible  that  we  could  hear  their  shouts  of  laughter  long  after  we 
had  passed.  Following  for  several  hours  down  the  course  of  a 
small  stream,  we  at  length  reach  in  good  earnest  the  plain  of 
Bukaa.  This  magnificent  valley  stretches  on  the  left,  as  we 
faced  Baalbek,  as  far  as  we  could  see  ;  on  the  right  it  seem- 
ed to  merge  into  a  sea  of  bright  water  studded  with  islands, 
the  reflection  of  which  appeared  in  its  surface  as  distinctly  as 
if  it  was  in  reality  a  sea  or  lake,  reminding  me  forcibly  of 
the  Salinas  plains  in  California.  In  fact  there  was  much  in 
the  general  character  of  this  part  of  Syria  to  bring  up  remin- 
iscences of  California.  The  two  great  ranges  of  mountains, 


210  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

Lebanon  and  Anti-Lebanon,  skirting  -the  plain ;  the  vast  ex- 
tent of  the  view  on  all  sides  ;  the  genial  sky  and  bracing  at- 
mosphere ;  the  long  lines  of  mules,  with  their  packs,  winding 
over  the  distant  hill-sides  ;  the  trails  diverging  in  all  direc- 
tions ;  the  parched  and  stern  character  of  the  scenery,  were  not 
unlike  an  autumn  view  in  the  Valley  of  San  Jose  or  San  Juan, 
and  still  more  like  the  Valley  of  Salinas.  But  here  the  re- 
semblance ceases.  There  is  nothing  in  Syria  to  remind  one  of 
the  indomitable  energy,  the  life,  vigor,  and  spirit  of  progress 
so  strikingly  apparent  in  California.  Whatever  the  plain  of 
Bukaa  may  have  been  in  the  days  of  the  splendor  of  Helio- 
polis,  it  is  now  a  barren  waste,  dotted  over  with  ruined  villages, 
and  of  a  most  melancholy  aspect.  Portions  of  it  are  still  cul- 
tivated in  a  rude  manner  ;  and  we  were  told  it  was  susceptible 
of  being  made  to  produce  good  wheat.  It  is  almost  entirely 
destitute  of  wood  and  water,  and  the  villages  stand  out  na- 
kedly in  the  full  blaze  of  an  eastern  sun.  Far  in  the  distance 
we  saw  a  single  column,  a  tall  solitary  object  on  the  broad 
waste,  standing  like  some  lonely  sentinel  to  remind  the  trav- 
eler that  this  land  was  not  always  thus  desolate.  There  is 
a  tradition  among  the  Arabs  that  this  column  was  carried 
thither  after  the  destruction  of  Baalbek,  on  the  shoulders  of  a 
woman,  who  placed  it  where  it 
now  stands  to  commemorate 
the  death  of  her  lover,  who 
was  slain  on  the  spot.  Her 
back  must  have  been  strong, 
as  well  as  her  love,  for  on  a 
nearer  inspection  we  found  the 
column  to  be  nearly  if  not  quite 
as  high  as  Pompey's  Pillar. 
Though  of  ancient  material,  so 
far  as  we  could  judge,  the 
blocks  of  stone  had  evidently 
been  put  together  in  their  pres- 
ent position  at  a  more  recent  ^P 

date.    It  stands  on  an  immense  . 

pedestal,  loosely  built,  and  many  of  the  stones  appear  to  have 


BAALBEK.  211 

been  thrown  out  of  place  by  some  convulsion  of  nature.  Th« 
lower  block  forming  the  base  is  broken  nearly  to  the  middle, 
the  gap  having  the  appearance  of  being  purposely  made  to  de- 
stroy the  column  by  a  fall.  It  is  miraculous  how  it  has  so 
long  resisted  the  force  of  the  winds,  which  sometimes  blow 
with  great  violence  on  this  plain. 

In  about  an  hour  more  we  reached  a  miserable  village,  in 
sight  of  the  ruins  of  Baalbek,  where  we  stopped  to  lunch. 
This  was  the  worst  specimen  of  a  Syrian  village  we  had  yet 
seen.  There  was  a  pond  of  green  water  close  by  from  which 
the  stench  was  insufferable  ;  and  as  to  the  huts,  they  were 
literally  goat-houses,  filthy  and  poverty-stricken  to  a  degree 
that  can  not  be  conceived  ;  many  of  them  being  mere  holes 
cut  in  the  mud-banks  partially  walled  up.  The  inhabitants 
corresponded  well  with  the  village,  being  a  ragged,  unwash- 
ed, squalid  set  of  vagabonds,  as  lazy  as  Arabs  can  be,  but, 
like  all  the  Orientals,  of  handsome  features  and  picturesque 
and  dignified  in  their  rags.  Every  man,  with  his  turban  and 
chibouck  and  fine  beard,  was  a  living  picture.  Of  the  women 
I  can  not  say  so  much.  They  were  coarse  and  ugly  enough, 
and  so  covered  up  in  dirty  rags  that  the  effect  was  more  in 
distance  than  proximity.  The  Sheik  was  a  dignified  old  man, 
who  sat  in  front  of  his  hovel  smoking  with  the  quiet  air  of  a 
Pasha  or  Sultan.  And  here,  let  me  observe,  that  I  have  sel- 
dom seen  an  Arab  or  Turk  of  any  rank  above  the  mere  dregs 
of  society  who  was  not  a  model  of  good  manners ;  never 
evincing  any  thing  like  awkwardness  in  the  presence  of  his 
superiors,  or  self-sufficiency  over  his  inferiors.  The  Sheiks 
of  the  villages  dress  quite  as  plainly  as  the  best  of  the  ordi- 
nary classes  and  can  only  be  distinguished  by  the  deference 
shown  them  by  the  people  generally.  In  their  administra- 
tion of  justice  they  seem  to  be  actuated  by  a  desire  to  econ- 
omize their  power  by  settling  all  difficulties  amicably,  and  on 
the  principles  of  common  sense.  Law  is  here  divested  of  its 
tautology,  for  it  is  merely  an  accepted  standard  of  right  and 
wrong  recognized  by  the  mass  of  the  community  tradition- 
ally ;  and  the  Sheik  who  acts  with  undue  severity,  or  who 
is  governed  by  inequitable  or  selfish  motives,  soon  loses  all 


212  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

power,  and  his  mandates  are  disregarded.  These  village 
governments  are  in  fact  petty  republics,  though  nominally 
founded  and  conducted  on  the  principle  of  hereditary  despot- 
isms. This  has  reference,  however,  only  to  their  municipal 
economy  ;  they  are  all  under  the  sway  of  the  Pashas  who 
govern  the  large  cities  in  virtue  of  the  powers  given  them 
from  the  Sublime  Porte.  Strictly  as  the  women  were  watched, 
they  could  not  restrain  their  curiosity,  but  crowded  around  us 
the  moment  we  entered  .the  village.  Their  sovereign  lords 
now  and  then  sharply  reproved  them,  and  added  force  to  the 
reproof,  when  it  was  too  often  disregarded,  by  a  sharp  slap 
on  the  side  of  the  head.  As  usual  our  dragoman  went  to 
the  best  looking  hut,  where  he  procured  us  a  tolerably  clean 
mat,  and  spread  it  near  the  door  on  a  sort  of  mud  seat.  Here 
we  were  surrounded  by  all  the  idlers  in  the  village.  Our 
manner  of  eating  excited  the  most  undisguised  astonishment, 
especially  the  use  of  knives  and  forks,  which  from  the  chat- 
ter of  tongues  we  imagined  to  be  the  subject  of  much  in- 
teresting speculation.  Every  mouthful  was  watched  from 
its  incipient  carving  to  the  cutting  upon  the  plate,  the  trip  on 
the  fork  to  the  mouth,  its  disappearance  and  mastication 
there,  and  final  passage  down  the  throat,  and  presumed 
lodgment  in  the  stomach.  The  salting  and  peppering,  the 
nice  turning  over  with  the  fork,  seemed  to  be  regarded  as  a 
miracle  of  dexterity.  Ill  suppressed  MasJiallas  were  heard 
whenever  two  pieces  could  be  pinned  together  and  made  to 
disappear  at  the  same  time.  Yusef  was  greatly  mortified  at 
this  annoyance,  and  told  us  it  was  not  the  Arab  fashion,  but 
that  these  poor  devils  were  no  better  than  Kelb,  or  dogs,  and 
had  never  seen  Christians  eat  before.  He  took  particular 
pains  to  assure  us  that  respectable  Arabs,  whom  he  claimed 
as  his  countrymen,  had  as  much  delicacy  about  looking  at 
people  while  eating  as  any  Europeans. 

Before  reaching  the  village,  we  had  an  indistinct  view  of 
the  columns  of  the  grand  Temple  of  the  Sun  ;  but  it  was  not 
until  we  had  approached  to  within  a  few  miles  that  the  whole 
magnificent  pile  of  ruins  and  columns  loomed  up  in  distinct 
outline  against  the  slopes  of  Anti-Lebanon. 


BAALBEK.  213 

It  was  a  soft  pleasant  evening  as  we  entered  the  outer 
walls,  and  drew  up  our  horses  before  the  castle.  Like  tho 
Acropolis  at  Athens,  all  else  seemed  nothing  compared  with 
the  glorious  Temple  of  the  Sun.  How  grandly  it  towers  amid 
the  desolation  of  ruins !  rising  in  all  its  majesty  from  the 
mighty  monuments  that  lie  mouldering  around  it,  with  its  yet 
magnificent  columns  standing  out  in  bold  relief  against  the 
mountains  ;  its  massive  walls  unshaken  by  the  tempests  of 
ages,  its  magic  ornaments  still  the  perfection  of  beauty. 
Looking  upward  through  the  mass  of  ruins,  the  rugged  out- 
line of  the  mountains  was  bathed  in  the  rays  of  the  setting 
sun,  and  the  whole  heavens  glowed  with  soft  colors.  Far 
across  the  broad  wastes  of  the  valley  of  Bukaa  were  minia- 
ture islands  and  solitary  trees,  reflected  in  its  surface,  and 
long  trains  of  camels  passing  on  their  weary  way,  and  the 
hoary  peaks  of  Mount  Lebanon  towering  high  above  all. 

While  Yusef  went  into  the  village  to  search  for  quarters, 
we  rode  around  the  ruins,  more  and  more  confounded  with  the 
vast  extent  and  elaborate  architectural  finish  of  this  magnifi- 
cent pile.  All  the  associations  of  the  place  contribute  to 
inspire  the  mind  with  glowing  conceptions  of  the  ancient 
splendor  of  Baalbek ;  when  those  walls  of  massive  stone  were 
perfect ;  when  those  broken  columns,  prostrate  now — save  a 
few  that  stand  to  show  how  great  the  wreck  has  .been — had 
each  a  place ;  when  those  massive  cornices,  so  exquisite  in 
their  finish,  those  friezes  and  capitals,  wrought  with  such 
masterly  skill,  formed  a  perfect  whole ;  when  the  glorious 
Temple  of  the  Sun  stood  untouched  by  the  scathing  hand  of 
time  or  the  ravages  of  war,  and  Baalbek  was  the  glory  arid 
Ihe  pride  of  Assyria — such  were  the  associations  that  filled  the 
mind  as  we  gazed  upon  this  mighty  wreck  of  matter. 

Of  the  origin  of  Baalbek  I  believe  very  little  is  known.  It 
has  been  the  current  belief  among  the  Arabs  for  many  gen- 
erations that  the  Temple  of  the  Sun  and  all  the  surrounding 
edifices  were  built  by  genii ;  and  in  proof  of  this  they  point  to 
the  immense  stones  high  up  in  the  walls,  and  ask  what  human 
power  could  have  placed  them  there  ?  The  Jews  say  it  wag 
built  by  Solomon  ;  and  it  is  thought  by  some  that  the  casf.le 


214-  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

was  an  impregnable  fortress,  which  Solomon  called  the  Towei 
of  Lebanon.  The  Greeks  believe  it  to  be  Nicomedia.  where 
Santa  Barbara  suffered  martyrdom.  Pierre  Belon,  a  French 
traveler,  who  visited  Baalbek  in  1548,  considered  it  to  be  the 
ancient  Cesarea  Philippi,  where  St.  Paul  makes  mention  of 
having  been.  Some  believe  it  to  be  the  ancient  Palmyra  ; 
which,  however,  is  now  well  known  to  be  four  days  distant. 
The  most  reliable  authorities  agree  in  the  opinion  that  Baal- 
bek is  the  ancient  Heliopolis. 

I  was  not  disappointed  in  the  ruins  of  Baalbek,  and  this  is 
saying  a  good  deal.  There  is  very  little  to  be  seen  in  the  old 
world  that  does  not  produce  disappointment ;  for  I  believe  any 
traveler  who  is  willing  to  confess  the  truth  will  admit  that 
reading  about  places  of  this  kind  at  home  and  seeing  them 
with  the  naked  eye  are  altogether  different  things.  The  ruins 
of  Baalbek  are  among  the  few  sights  one  sees  in  the  East  that 
will  bear  the  test  of  scrutiny  ;  the  more  they  are  studied  the 
greater  is  the  admiration  they  excite  ;  and  if  one  can  not  go 
into  the  sentimentalities  of  Lamartine,  he  will  see  enough  at 
least  to  afford  both  pleasure  and  wonder. 

Modern  Baalbek  is  totally  unworthy  the  name  it  bears.  I 
had  imagined  it  to  be  something  like  Beirut,  or  in  any  event 
not  inferior  to  Tripoli ;  but  the  fact  is,  it  is  a  miserable  vil- 
lage, not  much  better  than  the  meanest  collection  of  hovels 
we  had  seen  on  the  road.  A  few  scattered  and  ruinous  stone 
huts,  with  flat  mud  roofs,  the  walls  broken,  and  the  stones 
mattered  in  piles  through  the  narrow  and  filthy  lanes,  two  or 
\hree  dilapidated  mosques,  and  a  Greek  convent,  constitute 
nearly  all  that  exists  of  Baalbek,  exclusive  of  the  ancient 
temples.  Travelers,  in  consequence  of  the  difficulty  of  pro- 
curing accommodation  in  any  of  the  Mohammedan  houses,  are 
generally  compelled  to  camp  outside,  or  seek  for  quarters  in 
the  Greek  convent,  which  is  about  as  tempting  as  a  comfort- 
able pig-sty.  The  hill-sides  are  covered  with  the  ruins  of  the 
ancient  walls,  and  the  whole  town  is  so  dilapidated  that  it  is 
difficult  to  distinguish  the  houses  from  the  general  wreck. 
Many  portions  of  the  ancient  ruins  are  built  in  among  the 
hovels,  forming  a  curious  melange  of  the  sublime  and  the  ridi- 


BAALBEK.  215 

culous.  In  the  midst  of  mud-roofed  huts  may  be  seen  stand- 
ing out  in  solitary  relief  the  remains  of  a  beautiful  Corinthian 
column ;  and  over  some  miserable  doorway  the  choicest  spe- 
cimen of  a  cornice,  supported  by  blocks  of  rough  stone.  Some 
of  the  inhabitants,  loth  to  destroy  the  work  of  the  genii,  have 
built  their  huts  around  the  standing  columns,  scattered  here 
and  there,  so  that  in  projecting  through  the  roof  they  form  a 
very  pretty  ornament.  Old  arches  and  gateways  are  so 
patched  up  and  remodeled  that  little  else  save  the  material 
remains  to  show  their  origin.  The  principal  mosque  is  evi- 
dently all,  or  nearly  all,  rebuilt  from  the  ruins  of  some  ancient 
edifice,  portions  of  it  being  so  put  together  as  to  destroy  all  the 
harmony  of  the  different  parts.  I  believe  this  is  the  work  of 
the  Turks  ;  it  looks  very  much  as  if  it  was  done  by  people  who 
were  ignorant  of  the  difference  between  a  column  and  a  cornice. 
From  an  elevation  a  little  beyond  the  chief  ruins  there  is  a 
fine  view  of  the  Castle  of  Baalbek  and  the  Temple  of  the  Sun. 
These  are  the  principal  objects  of  interest.  I  made  a  sketch 
of  them,  which  is  now  before  me  ;  but  I  can  not  undertake  to 
describe  them.  It  is  a  mighty  mass  of  ruins  of  walls,  of  col- 
umns, and  towers — a  picture  of  desolation  made  more  desolate 
by  all  that  survives  the  ravages  of  time.  The  castle,  or 
palace,  is  a  long  rambling  edifice,  composed  of  immense  walls 
and  mouldering  towers;  parts  of  it  have  probably  been  rebuilt 
by  the  Saracens,  and  some  recent  patching  in  white  seems  to 
have  been  done  by  the  Turks,  who  evidently  have  a  great 
taste  for  putting  columns  where  cornices  belong,  and  patching 
up  dark  old  walls  composed  of  immense  blocks  with  little 
pieces  of  white  stone  about  a  foot  square.  The  enormous  size 
of  some  of  the  blocks  of  stone  in  the  main  walls  of  the  palace 
is  one  of  the  chief  objects  of  interest.  Three  of  these,  in  the 
wall  at  the  rear  of  the  grand  temple,  measure  sixty  feet  eaih, 
and  form  together  a  surface  of  a  hundred  and  eighty  feet  in 
length  and  fifty-four  in  width,  all  of  solid  stone.  Considering 
the  distance  these  have  been  carried  from  the  quarry,  and  the 
height  to  which  they  have  been  elevated  in  the  wall,  it  would 
seem  that  the  people  of  those  days  must  have  had  some  very 
powerful  mechanical  means  of  overcoming  the  difficulty. 


216  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

We  took  an  Arab  boy  of  the  village  with  us  as  a  guide,  and 
made  a  thorough  exploration  of  the  ruins.  I  have  an  impor 
feet  recollection  of  long  subterranean  passages,  arched  over 
with  tremendous  stones,  very  dark,  and  full  of  niches  arid 
queer  places  at  the  sides,  with  broken  busts  of  old  kings,  and 
ruined  ornaments,  and  dim  flashes  of  light  through  the  open- 
ings, and  a  very  strong  smell  of  goats ;  and  this  is  all  that  I 
can  tell  you  of  the  palace.  It  was,  no  doubt,  a  wonderful 
place  once,  arid  is  yet ;  but  it  is  hard  to  get  all  the  bearings 
of  it  in  a  day  or  two.  There  are  hundreds  of  intricate  pas- 
sages to  explore  above  and  below,  grand  old  chambers  to  see, 
stairs  of  solid  marble,  inscriptions  in  Roman,  marble  tombs  of 
old  kings  or  emperors,  grand  old  columns,  cornices,  and  friezes  ; 
and  I  don't  know  how  many  other  things,  to  crowd  the  brain 
with  and  confuse  tho  memory. 

The  broken  columns  on  the  outside  are  scattered  about  in 
melancholy  profusion.  Some  of  the  best  have  been  taken 
away  to  ornament  the  mosque  of  Sultan  Soliman  in  Constanti- 
nople ;  but  there  is  still  enough  to  astonish  the  beholder. 
The  Doric  and  the  Corinthian  orders  of  architecture  are  ap- 
parent throughout  the  ruins  ;  the  pure  and  elegant  taste  of 
the  Greeks  prevailing  in  some  parts,  and  the  profuse  magnifi- 
cence of  the  Romans  in  others ;  but  always  with  such  an 
admirable  disposition  of  the  parts  as  to  preserve  the  tone  of 
harmony,  and  still  afford  a  pleasing  variety. 

The  entrance  into  the  Temple  of  the  Sun  is  one  of  the 
grandest  things  imaginable.  It  is  almost  incredible  the 
amount  of  labor  bestowed  upon  this  single  part ;  the  curious 
carving,  the  basso-relievos,  the  intricacy  and  ingenuity  of 
design,  and  the  wonderful  delicacy  of  finish.  Over  head  is 
an  imm'ense  block  of  stone  displaced  by  some  convulsion  of 
nature,  and  it  hangs  by  a  few  inches  on  each  side,  forming  a 
remarkable  feature  in  the  ruin.  The  carving  is  minute  and 
beautiful ;  the  eagle  and  the  Cupids  are  universally  admired. 
Chief  of  all,  however,  is  the  frontispiece,  consisting  of  an  im- 
mense number  of  figures  in  basso-relievo,  representing  the  mys- 
teries and  sacrifices  of  Paganism.  There  is  a  mass  of  men 
end  animals,  in  most  Paganistic  confusion,  very  well  exe 


BAALBEK.  217 

cuted  and  very  strangely  designed.  Within  the  walls  of  the 
sacred  temple  are  niches  where  stood  in  former  times  statu- 
ary, and  some  beautiful  specimens  of  friezes  and  other  decora- 
tions. In  order  to  get  on  top  we  were  obliged  to  creep  into 
a  little  hole  near  the  grand  entrance,  and  ascend  by  a  circu- 
lar stairway.  From  the  top  of  the  Temple  of  the  Sun  we  had 
an  imposing  view  of  the  ruins  that  lie  in  confused  masses 
around.  It  is  in  every  respect  a  scene  of  utter  and  hopeless 
desolation.  I  could  not  but  think  with  a  melancholy  interest 
of  the  difference  between  what  I  now  saw,  and  what  stood 
there  in  centuries  past,  when  those  ruined  walls  encircled  the 
pride  of  Assyria ;  when  those  parched  and  arid  plains  were 
covered  with  gardens,  and  irrigated  by  fountains  and  flowing 
streams  ;  and  the  heroes,  whose  deeds  have  given  a  romance  to 
Oriental  history,  moved  in  triumph  there,  amid  the  swell  of 
music  and  the  homage  of  the  multitude.  Now  what  was 
it  ?  a  desert  wilderness — a  city  of  crumbling  walls,  of  bat- 
tered and  time-worn  castles,  and  broken  columns — a  ruin 
amid  ruins.  Camels  were  browsing  lazily  on  ihe  stunted 
bushes  near  the  ruins,  and  groups  of  Arabs  sat  smoking  on 
the  broken  columns  ;  goats  ran  bleating  in  and  out  of  the 
palace-chambers,  and  the  startled  crows  flew  from  their  nests 
as  we  approached.  It  was  ruin  every  where ;  the  spirit  of 
desolation  hung  over  all,  and  the  proud  City  of  the  Sun  lay 
dead  in  the 

"  Wide  waste  of  all-devouring  years." 

k 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

YUSEF    DANCES    THE    RAAS. 

WHILE  we  were  looking  at  the  ruins,  Yusef  came  back  from 
the  village,  which  is  a  little  way  off  on  the  slope  of  the  hill, 
with  news  that  he  had  found  a  lodging  place  for  us  at  the 
house  of  his  niece.  By  this  time  we  hegan  to  have  a  sus- 
picion of  Yusef 's  nieces,  he  had  so  many  all  over  Syria.  At 
Batroun.  he  had  nieces,  at  Tripoli  and  Aheden  he  had  nieces, 
and  now  here  was  another  at  Baalbek,  and  the  strangest  part 
of  it  was  that  they  were  all  very  pretty.  However,  as  we  had 
no  prejudice  against  beauty,  we  followed  our  dragoman  up 
into  the  village,  where  we  found  his  niece  and  her  husband 
living  in  a  stone  hut,  rather  a  more  decent  sort  of  hovel  than. 
most  of  those  in  the  neighborhood.  It  was,  in  truth,  a  very 
respectable  little  stone  box  covered  over  with  mud,  with  a 
place  for  fire  in  one  corner,  and  a  great  many  little  pockets  in 
the  walls  all  round,  where  there  were  stowed  onions,  tobacco, 
and  sundry  small  notions  for  pleasure  and  sustenance.  The 
host  was  an  Arab  of  the  country,  a  very  good  sort  of  fellow, 
who  seemed  to  have  but  two  objects  in  life  to  accomplish — 
one  to  see  that  his  wife  kept  her  face  covered,  and  the  other 
to  keep  the  roof  of  his  house  from  leaking ;  I  hardly  know 
which  troubled  him  the  most.  The  wife  was  a  pretty  buxom 
young  woman,  with  fine  black  eyes  and  a  beautiful  mouth, 
which  she  took  every  opportunity  to  display,  in  spite  of  the 
vigilance  of  our  host,  who  was  constantly  on  the  watch,  when 
he  was  not  on  the  top  of  the  house.  He  kept  a  round  stone 
— a  piece  of  an  old  pillar  found  among  the  ruins — which  he 
was  almost  continually  rolling  over  the  top  of  the  house ; 
sometimes  he  would  roll  it  for  an  hour,  and  then  come  down 


YUSEF  DANCES  THE  KAAS.  219 

and  look  after  his  wife  and  smoke  his  chibouck  ;  but  the  pre- 
sentiment was  evidently  uppermost  in  his  mind  that  it  would 
rain  some  time  or  other,  and  to  work  he  would  go  again, 
hopping  all  over  the  roof  with  one  foot  while  he  kept  the  stone 
iu  motion  with  the  other.  The  poor  fellow  was  actually  a 
victim  of  conjugal  felicity. 

In  traveling  through  Syria,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  world, 
I  always  carried  my  flute  with  me  to  relieve  the  lonely  hours 
at  night  and  excite  a  social  feeling  among  the  natives.  I  had 
fluted  my  way,  after  the  fashion  of  Goldsmith,  through  many 
a  difficulty  ;  and  now  I  was  resolved  to  see  what  the  magic 
of  music  would  do  in  removing  the  prejudices  of  the  Arabs. 
As  soon  as  it  was  dark  we  had  a  good  fire  lit  in  the  corner, 
and,  pulling  off  our  shoes,  as  custom  required,  we  spread  our 
mats  close  by,  and  sat  down  cosily  to  enjoy  the  cheerful  blaze, 
my  friends  (the  Southerner  and  the  English  Captain)  smoking 
their  chiboucks,  while  I  brought  forth  my  knapsack  and  com- 
menced putting  the  pieces  of  my  flute  together.  The  Arabs, 
who  had  begun  to  crowd  in,  were  greatly  interested  in  the 
strange  instrument  that  I  was  getting  under  way  ;  and  Yusef, 
who  was  rather  proud  of  his  superior  civilization,  sat  by  en- 
joying their  remarks  and  giving  us  a  running  interpretation. 
Some  thought  it  was  a  sort  of  pistol,  with  a  large  touch  hole  ; 
but  this  notion  was  ridiculed  by  the  more  knowing  ones,  who 
said  it  was  plain  enough  to  see  that  it  was  a  new-fashioned 
pipe,  and  that  they  would  soon  see  me  put  the  bowl  to  it,  and 
begin  to  smoke.  At  last  I  got  all  the  pieces  adjusted,  and, 
commanding  silence  by  a  mysterious  motion  of  the  hand,  com- 
menced playing  that  classical  air  of  "  Old  Zip  Coon,"  which 
I  dare  say  never  was  heard  before  among  the  ruins  of  Baalbek. 
There  was  the  most  breathless  attention  on  all  sides,  inter- 
rupted only  by  suppressed  exclamations  of  tahib !  tahib .' 
(good  !  good  !)  whenever  I  blew  a  very  shrill  or  false  note 
and  soon  the  women  and  children  from  the  neighboring  houses 
began  to  crowd  in,  and  there  was  gradually  a  large  circle 
formed  around  the  room,  the  audience  squatting  down  in  rows, 
till  there  was  scarcely  space  enough  left  to  breathe.  I  blew 
away  with  all  my  might,  for  not  only  was  I  excited  by  the 


220  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

success  of  my  experiment,  but  rather  inspired  by  the  music  I 
was  making,  which  I  assure  you  was  not  bad.  The  familiar 
airs  of  home  made  me  sentimental,  and  I  merged  into  the 
doleful  air  of  "  Give  me  back  my  heart  again ;  oh  !  give  it 
back  again !"  which  was  a  miserable  failure  ;  not  a  damsel 
seemed  disposed  to  listen  to  it.  They  commenced,  in  the  very 
middle  of  the  most  pathetic  strain,  to  call  for  the  first  tune ; 
so  I  had  to  return  to  "  Old  Zip  Coon."  When  I  had  con- 
cluded, there  was  no  end  to  the  tahibs :  Mr.  Coon  was  a  de- 
cided hit.  In  order  to  vary  the  entertainment,  silence  was 
commanded  again,  and  Yusef  was  desired  to  explain  that  there 
would  be  a  song ;  that  it  was  a  song  of  an  old  black  gentle- 
man who  lived  in  America,  who  was  a  Pasha  among  the 
blacks ;  that  he  was  called  Uncle  Ned  because  he  was  so 
venerable,  and,  being  very  old,  the  hair  all  fell  out  of  his 
head,  arid  there  was  no  hair  at  all  in  the  place  where  the 
hair  ought  to  grow  ;  that  he  hadn't  any  eyes  to  see  with,  and, 
consequently,  was  as  blind  as  a  post,  or  a  stone  wall,  or  any 
thing  else  that  is  supposed  to  be  deficient  in  eyes ;  that 
neither  had  he  teeth  to  eat  bread  with,  and  he  had  to  let  the 
bread  alone  and  eat  something  else  ;  that  his  fingers  were  as 
long  as  canes  in  the  brake,  which  was  about  an  average  of 
sixteen  feet ;  and,  eventually,  that  one  day  when  he  was  out 
in  the  field,  a  horrible  monster  called  Grim  Death  came  along 
and  caught  him  by  the  heel  and  carried  him  away,  and  he 
was  never  heard  of  any  more  except  in  this  song,  which  was 
written  in  commemoration  of  all  these  facts.  Thereupon, 
having  excited  the  most  profound  interest  in  the  history  of 
Uncle  Ned,  I  launched  forth  into  the  song,  keeping  as  near 
the  tune  as  possible,  and  going  through  all  the  motions  de- 
scriptive of  the  baldness  of  his  head,  the  absence  of  his  teeth 
and  the  length  of  his  fingers.  At  length,  when  I  arrived  at 
ihe  final  catastrophe,  where  Grim  Death  seizes  the  old  gentle- 
man by  the  heel,  I  made  a  sudden  motion  at  the  heel  of  ouf 
worthy  host,  who  was  sitting  near  by,  completely  upsetting 
him  with  fright,  and  causing  a  laugh  from  the  audience  that 
seemed  as  if  it  would  never  come  to  an  end.  It  was  the  best 
hit  of  the  evening,  and  completely  removed  all  constraint 


YUSEF  DANCES  THE  HAAS.  221 

The  women  had  gradually  uncovered  their  faces,  and  the 
men  were  in  such  a  good  humor  that  they  paid  no  attention 
to  it ;  and  we  were  all  as  jovial  as  possible — showing  that 
people  all  over  the  world  are  pretty  much  the  same  by  na- 
ture, and  that  there  are  few  races  so  barbarous  as  not  to  be 
moved  by  music  and  a  spirit  of  sociability.  I  never  found  it 
to  fail  any  where ;  and  never  knew  an  instance  of  any  ad- 
vance being  made  in  a  hearty,  off-hand  way,  where  it  was 
not  returned  even  more  cordially — from  the  fact,  perhaps, 
that  it  is  so  rarely  done  by  travelers.  But  my  triumph  was 
of  short  duration.  Yusef  became  inspired  by  the  bright  eyes 
of  the  Arab  damsels,  and  soon  carried  away  all  my  laurels. 
Standing  forth  in  the  centre  of  the  room,  he  addressed  the 
audience  in  the  most  impressive  manner — stating  that  with 
their  permission  he  would  perform  the  celebrated  dance  of 
his  country,  called  the  Haas,  for  which  it  was  necessary  that 
he  should  have  a  space  cleared  in  the  middle  of  the  floor. 
This  proposition  was  greeted  by  a  general  murmur  of  appro- 
bation. A  space  was  soon  cleared,  the  audience  crowding 
back  on  top  of  each  other  against  the  walls,  but  all  in  the 
most  perfect  good-humor.  Yusef  now  began  to  unwind  him- 
self. He  was  in  his  choicest  Arab  costume,  and  fairly  daz- 
zled with  armor.  His  sash  was  almost  interminable.  Fran- 
cesco, the  boy,  pulled  for  five  minutes,  unwinding  him  all  the 
time,  as  a  spool  of  cotton  on  end  might  be  unwound ;  and 
when  the  armor  was  all  taken  off  and  the  sash  at  an  end, 
Yusef  called  for  his  sword,  and  stood  forth  ready  for  the  dance; 
Never  was  there  such  a  sensation  among  the  damsels  of 
.Baalbek.  He  was  the  very  cut  of  an  Arab  beau,  whose  at- 
tractions and  accomplishments  were  not  to  be  resisted  by 
vain  and  foolish  woman.  Poising  his  sword  in  the  air,  he 
called  for  music,  and  the  music  struck  up — your  humble 
servant  being  the  musician.  Whiz !  went  the  sword  through 
the  air,  cutting  and  slashing  in  all  directions ;  up  cuts  and 
down  thrusts  within  an  inch  of  the  retreating  noses  of  the 
audience,  who  were  now  tumbled  over  in  regular  heaps. 
The  women  could  scarce  suppress  their  screams ;  the  men 
cried  Tahib  !  Tahib  !  and  Yusef  cut  away  in  a  perfect  frenzy, 


222  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

till  the  first  part  of  the  performance,  commencing  with  the 
sword  exercise,  was  concluded.  He  then  began  in  good  earn- 
est the  dance  of  the  Raas  ;  gradually  at  first,  with  a  tremulous 
motion  of  one  side  and  a  convulsive  quivering  of  the  other 
that  seemed  quite  miraculous.  I  really  began  to  think  the 
fellow  would  go  to  pieces.  His  right  leg  kept  running  all 
round  in  a  circle,  while  his  right  shoulder  and  arm  danced  a 
jig ;  the  whole  of  his  left  side  kept  rising  and  falling  con- 
vulsively, and  his  back  worked  as  if  every  joint  had  a  distinct 
and  independent  movement.  Tahib !  Tahib  !  shouted  the 
audience,  and  round  and  round  ran  the  independent  leg  faster 
than  ever  ;  and  the  left  side  worked,  and  the  right  side  danced, 
arid  the  back  wriggled  into  the  most  convulsive  motions,  and 
Yusef  looked  just  as  much  like  one  of  the  figures  in  a  show, 
worked  by  wires,  as  any  thing  I  ever  saw,  only  a  good  deal 
more  wiry.  Some  of  the  motions  in  this  part  of  the  dance 
were  so  ludicrous  that  the  music  had  to  stop  suddenly  for 
want  of  breath ;  but  the  dance  went  on  to  the  clapping  of 
hands  kept  up  by  the  Arabs.  The  concluding  part  of  the 
performance  consisted  of  dancing,  fighting,  and  love-making 
all  together.  The  djeercd  is  thrown,  the  sword  whirled  over 
the  head,  hundreds  of  foes  slain,  skulls  split  open,  and  terrible 
wounds  received  in  the  heroic  attempt  to  carry  away  the 
daughter  of  a  Grand  Sultan,  who  seems  to  be  surrounded  by 
difficulties.  At  last  Yusef  is  mortally  wounded,  and  he  be 
gins  to  die  by  throwing  his  head  back  and  getting  very  weak 
in  the  knees.  Every  bit  of  his  body  is  convulsed  with  dying 
tortures ;  shoulders,  breast,  elbows,  legs,  and  all  are  writhing 
horribly ;  by  degrees  he  drops  on  one  knee,  and  then  on  the 
other ;  and  his  arms  fall  loosely,  and  his  head  tumbles  over 
on  his  breast,  and  he  is  about  to  roll  over  perfectly  dead, 
when  he  catches  a  glimpse  of  his  lady-love.  With  a  wild 
yell  he  springs  to  his  feet  again,  seizes  his  sword,  and  lays 
about  him  so  desperately  that  the  audience  begins  to  think  it 
is  no  joke  at  all.  It  really  seemed  as  if  Yusef  had  entirely 
lost  his  senses  ;  the  perspiration  streamed  down  his  face  ;  he 
snorted  like  a  horse,  and  his  eye.?  had  something  horribly 
wild  and  insane  about  them.  I  expected  each  moment  to 


YUSEF  DANCES  THE  RAAS. 


223 


see  him  cut  somebody  through  the  skull — knowing  it  to  he  a 
common  piece  of  entertainment  in  these  outlandish  countries. 
But  it  was  only  a  dying  effort,  this  fit  of  desperation  ;  down 
lie  fell  on  his  knees  before  his  lady-love,  gasped  out  the  mad- 
ness of  his  love  with  his  last  breath,  and  died  tike  a  true 
lover  with  his  head  in  her  lap.'  The  sensation  was  tremend- 
ous. Hands  were  clapped,  tahibs  shouted  from  all  quarters, 
and  the  clatter  of  astonishment,  admiration,  and  sympathy 
from  the  Arab  damsels  was  perfectly  overwhelming.  Never 
did  I  feel  so  cut  down  in  all  my  life  ;  old  Zip  Coon  was  com- 
pletely forgotten  in  the  torrent  of  admiration  drawn  forth  by 
the  performances  of  Yusef.  I  quietly  put  the  flute  in  my 
knapsack,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  all  triumphs  are 
fleeting,  and  that  the-  Raas  dance  is  the  greatest  dance  that 
ever  was  invented. 


YUSEF  DANCING   THE    RAAS. 


Such  were  the  demonstrations  of  satisfaction  on  the  part  of 
every  female  in  the  room,  and  the  undisguised  delight  with 


224  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST 

which  they  returned  Yusef's  sidelong  smiles,  that  there  was 
not  a  male  member  of  the  audience  who  was  not  fired  with 
jealousy  and  mistrust.  Low  murmurs  began  to  arise  between 
man  arid  wife  ;  smothered  rebukes  were  given  by  friends  and 
relatives  ;.  and  fair  faces  began  reluctantly  to  disappear,  but 
not  without  parting  glances  at  the  Adonis  of  Arabs.  That 
there  was  not  a  female  heart  in  the  crowd  unscathed  by  his 
graces  of  person  and  flashing  silks,  as  well  as  by  the  heroic 
courage  which  he  had  displayed  in  the  affair  of  the  Princess,  • 
was  perfectly  apparent.  Even  the  husband  of  Yusef's  niece, 
who  was  well  acquainted  with  the  relationship  existing  be- 
tween his  wife  and  that  distinguished  adventurer,  did  not 
seem  altogether  satisfied  that  their  consanguinity  would  prove 
a  barrier  to  all  danger ;  indeed,  he  looked  at  both  parties 
with  extreme  suspicion  ;  but  perceiving  that  there  was  no 
indication  of  any  immediate  danger  (for  they  were  discreet 
enough  not  to  notice  each  other)  he  hastily  left  the  house, 
climbed  up  on  the  roof,  and  relieved  his  mind  in  some  degree 
by  rolling  the  broken  pillar  over  it  furiously  for  the  space  of 
half  an  hour. 

Alas,  I  wish  I  could  conscientiously  say  that  there  was  no 
danger  ;  I  wish  Yusef  had  never  stopped  there  ;  I  would  blot 
out  that  night  in  tears  more  copious  than  were  shed  by  the 
great  poet  who  wept  when  he  found  Baalbek  in  ruins ;  but  a 
stern  sense  of  duty  compels  me  to  proceed  ;  it  shall  never  be 
said  that  I  have  smiled  at  human  weakness,  or  attempted  to 
shield  the  culpable  from  just  and  merited  reproach. 

The  guests  having  at  a  late  hour  retired  to  their  respective 
homes,  Yusef  spread  our  mattresses  on  the  floor,  and  fixed  us 
comfortably  for  the  night.  His  own  mattress  he  left  for  fu- 
ture consideration.  The  husband  of  Yusef  s  niece  carefully 
noted  the  manner  in  which  we  were  arranged,  and  apparent- 
ly satisfied  that  all  was  right  so  far,  he  looked  into  every  little 
pigeon-hole  in  the  walls  to  make  assurance  doubly  sure,  and 
then  looked  at  the  door  between  our  room  and  that  in  which 
himself  and  wife  slept.  There  was  a  large  wooden  bolt  at- 
tached to  it,  which  he  carefully  fastened,  and  then  pulled 
back  and  fastened  again,  so  that  he  might  be  sure  there  was 


YTJSEF  DANCES  THE  RAAS.  22ft 

no  deception  about  its  being  fast ;  and  then  bidding  us  all 
good-night,  he  reluctantly  departed  through  the  front  door — 
came  back  again  in  five  minutes  for  a  drink  of  water,  looked 
at  the  door  that  was  bolted,  at  the  tall  Southerner,  the  En- 
glish Captain  and  myself,  then  at  Yusef — departed  once  more, 
and  before  we  were  asleep,  slyly  peeped  in  again  to  be 
quite  certain  that  there  was  nothing  wrong,  closed  the  front 
door  softly,  and  retired  to  the  adjoining  room,  where  he 
talked  seriously  to  his  wife, — probably  about  the  leak  in  his 
house — for  more  than  an  hour.  By  the  time  he  had  con- 
cluded, every  body  was  apparently  asleep.  There  were  two, 
however,  who  were  very  far  from  being  asleep.  One  was 
myself ;  I  could  not  help  thinking  that  the  inner  door,  although 
bolted  on  the  right  side  for  us,  in  case  of  an  invasion  from 
that  quarter;  was  bolted  on  the  wrong  side  for  the  husband 
of  Yusef  s  niece,  in  case  of  an  invasion  from  our  side,  which  I 
regarded  as  much  more  to  be  apprehended.  The  other  mem- 
ber of  our  party  referred  to  as  not  being  asleep,  was  Yusef 
himself.  He  had  pulled  his  mattress  up  within  a  few  feet  of 
the  bolted  door,  after  every  body  was  quiet,  covered  himself 
up  carefully  in  the  blankets,  and  commenced  snoring  imme- 
diately; which  was  precisely  what  kept  me  awake — not  the 
snoring  but  the  suspicions  aroused  by  it.  Yusef  never  snored 
when  he  was  asleep.  I  knew  him  too  well  for  that ;  he  was 
always  as  wide  awake  when  he  snored  as  he  ever  was  in  his 
life.  Consequently  I  kept  a  very  small  corner  of  my  weather- 
eye  open  ;  it  was  impossible  to  close  it  while  the  snoring  con- 
tinued. A-  dim  light  from  the  dying  embers  in  the  fire,  en- 
abled me  to  perceive,  in  the  course  of  time,  that  Yusef  was 
getting  restless ;  the  snoring  gradually  stopped  ;  the  blankets 
began  to  drop  off,  and  he  sat  up  on  his  mattress  and  looked 
cautiously  around.  Satisfied  that  all  was  right,  he  crept  to 
the  door,  fumbled  at  the  bolt  for  some  minutes,  and  eventu- 
ally drew  it  back,  without  making  any  more  noise  than  a 
mouse  would  have  made  under  the  same  circumstances. 
The  difficulty  was  to  get  the  door  open ;  it  was  hung  on 
wooden  hinges,  which,  perhaps,  had  not  been  greased  for 
some  time.  Yusef  breathed  hard  a  few  moments,  gathered 

K* 


226  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

fresh  courage,  and  commenced  pulling  cautiously  at  the  door 
It  opened  a  little  way  ;  'another  pull ;  it  opened  a  little  more  ; 
another  yet — it  creaked — it  creaked  dreadfully  !  Q,uick  as 
lightning  Yusef  pushed  it  back,  bolted  it,  covered  himself  up 
in  his  blankets,  and  commenced  snoring  again  ;  but  there  was 
evidently  a  commotion  in  the  other  room.  The  voice  of  a  man 
shouted  something  fiercely — it  was  in  Arabic — but  doubtless 
it  was — Who's  there!  Under  some  circumstances  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  answer  such  a  question ;  under  the  present  circum- 
stances Yusef  considered  it  impossible;  he  only  snored  the 
louder,  and  heard  the  less.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the 
owner  of  the  voice  labored  under  the  impression  that  some  of 
us  intended  to  rob  him,  for  I  heard  him,  both  in  my  sleep 
and  in  my  waking  hours  throughout  the  remainder  of  the 
night  stumbling  uneasily  about  the  room.  In  the  morning, 
Yusef,  who  had  snored  to  the  best  of  my  belief  without  stop- 
ping from  the  moment  he  had  so  suddenly  covered  himself  up 
in  the  blankets,  set  to  work  and  beat  the  muleteers ;  but  not 
with  his  accustomed  alacrity.  His  mind  was  depressed,  and 
he  looked  so  little  refreshed  by  balmy  slumber  that  I  was  in- 
duced to  ask  him  what  was  the  matter.  He  evinced  some 
little  confusion  at  first ;  but  quickly  rallying,  stated  that  he 
had  suffered  from  a  bad  dream  ;  that  he  dreamt  he  saw  a 
lion ;  and  the  lion  was  going  to  attack  us ;  that  he  was  un- 
armed at  the  time,  but  inspired  by  his  courage,  which  never 
forsook  him  in  any  emergency,  he  crept  toward  the  lion  in 
the  hope  of  getting  him  by  the  mane  and  choking  him ;  that 
just  as  he  was  about  to  put  the  lion  to  death,  some  invisible 
spirits  pulled  him  back,  and  so  they  tormented  him  every 
time  he  got  near  to  his  foe,  throughout  the  entire  night. 

It  was  certainly  an  extraordinary  dream.  Possibly  Yusef 
really  dreamt  it.  I  hope  so ;  many  stranger  dreams  than  that 
have  been  dreamt ;  but  I  have  never  been  able  to  rid  my 
mind  of  the  impression  that  the  liou  wa"s  very  pretty,  and  not 
at  all  ferocious. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

A    SOCIAL    CHAT   WITH   YUSEF 

WITHOUT  exactly  claiming  to  have  control  over  the  morals 
of  our  dragoman,  I  nevertheless  considered  it  my  duty  to  point 
out  to  Yusef  the  evils  of  those  stringent  measures  adopted  by 
the  Arabs  in  their  matrimonial  relations,  and  to  show  him 
how  much  better  it  would  be  to  abandon  those  absurd  cus- 
toms at  once.  When  the  conversation  ran  on  congenial  sub- 
jects, such  as  love  and  war,  his  sagacity  and  enthusiasm  were 
very  remarkable  ;  and  I  was  often  surprised  at  the  quickness 
of  his  perception,  and  the  readiness  with  which  he  met  all 
my  arguments. 

"  It  seems  to  me,  Yusef,"  said  I,  after  we  had  finished 
breakfast,  "that  you  Arabs  are  the  most  barbarous  people  on 
the  face  of  the  earth.  Why,  even  the  Hottentots  give  their 
women  some  liberty.  You,  however,  not  only  cover  their  faces, 
but  keep  them  in  a  state  of  abject  slavery.  How  can  you  ever 
expect  to  be  a  virtuous  people  when  your  wives  are  nothing 
but  slaves !" 

YUSEF  (with  spirit). — "  They  are  not  such  slaves  as  your 
excellency  thinks.  We  shut  them  up  and  keep  them  at  home 
when  strangers  are  about — especially  gentlemen  like  your 
excellency,  who  perform  on  the  flute,  and  sing  songs  of  an 
inspiring  and  captivating  nature ;  but,  as  a  general  thing,  we 
treat  them  kindly.  They  exercise  powe/  enough  over  us  now, 
and  if  they  had  greater  liberty  they  would  exercise  a  good 
deal  more." 

GENERAL. — "  Of  course  they  would,  and  why  not?  It  is 
the  very  perfection  of  civilization  when  unlimited  power  is 
given  to  woman.  In  America  we  never  think  of  shutting  our 


228  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

women  up  and  keeping  guard  over  them.  They  would  soon 
mutiny  against  that.  Though  they  are  free  as  air,  many  of 
them  consider  that  they  are  barbarously  limited  in  power, 
even  now  It  is  nothing  uncommon  for  them  to  hold  conven- 
tions, for  the  purpose  of  denouncing  the  male  sex,  and  assert- 
ing their  right  to  seats  in  our  National  Legislature.  Some  of 
them  even  aspire  to  the  Presidency.  For  all  I  know,  there 
may  be  a  female  candidate  nominated  for  that. high  office  at 
this  very  moment." 

YUSEF. — "  Don't  you  whip  'em,  sir  ?  Don't  you  lock  'em 
up,  and  give  'em  the  bastinado  ?" 

GENERAL  (indignantly). — "  The  bastinado,  forsooth  !  I'd 
like  to  see  such  a  thing  as  that  tried  in  our  country.  Why, 
we  have  ladies  who  would  cowhide  a  man  if  they  knew  he 
entertained  such  a  thought ;  and  we  have  newspaper  editors 
who  compliment  ladies  for  distinguishing  themselves  in  that 
way.  No,  Yusef ;  we  never  use  the  bastinado.  On  the  con- 
trary, there  are  persons  of  the  male  sex,  or  who  assume  to  be 
of  that  sex,  ever  ready  to  join  these  spunky  ladies  in  their  con- 
ventions, and  act  entirely  under'  their  dictation.  That  such 
men  will  eventually  aspire  to  petticoats  is  not  at  all  improb- 
able." 

YUSEF  (highly  excited). — "I'd  shoot  'em;  by  Allah,  sir,  I'd 
gut  'em  !  Miserable  dogs  !  I'd — no  matter  ! — proceed,  sir — 
proceed  !" 

GENERAL. — "Tell  me,  Yusef,  in  the  name  of  common  sense, 
which  you  know  is  the  grand  object  of  my  crusade  in  this 
benighted  region,  what  do  the  Arab  women  cover  their  faces 
for  ?  Fain  would  I  probe  to  the  bottom  all  these  strange 
customs,  and  learn  the  reason  thereof." 

YUSEF. — "  Now,  verily,  0  General,  hast  thou  asked  me  a 
question  that  it  is  difficult  to  answer.  It  is  the  custom  of  the 
country,  and,  to  the  best  of  my  belief,  has  been  the  custom 
for  many  centuries  pasf." 

GENERAL. — "  But  the  custom  is  absurd,  and  ought  to  be 
abandoned  at  once.  Don't  you  think  so  ?" 

YUSEF. — "  Again,  that  question  is  a  poser.  I  have  never 
considered  it  in  the  light  of  an  absurd  custom,  having  been 


A  SOCIAL  CHAT  WITH  YUSEF.  229 

used  to  these  things  from  infancy.  To  me,  it  -seems  exceed- 
ingly strange  that  the  women  of  America  don't  cover  their 
faces." 

GENERAL  (somewhat  nettled). — "Why  so,  pray?  They're 
not  ashamed  of  their  faces  :  why  should  they  cover  them?" 

YUSEF. — "  Pardon  me  !  I  only  meant  that  to  my  unedu- 
cated and  untraveled  eyes,  it  looks  a  little  indiscreet.  Beauty, 
0  General,  is  a  rare  and  precious  jewel :  it  doesn't  do  to  show 
it  too  often." 

GENEEAL. — "  But  what  use  is  it  if  it  be  hidden  under  a 
mask,  and  never  seen  at  all  except  by  the  lady's  husband  ? 
Every  husband  admires  the  beauty  of  his  wife  when  other 
people  admire  it.  If  other  people  don't  admire  it,  what  m- 
citement  is  there  for  admiration  on  his  part  ?  He  must  get. 
accustomed  to  it  in  a  month  or  two,  just  as  the  shepherd  who 
lives  on  the  mountain-top  gets  accustomed  to  the  beauty  of 
the  scenery.  To  cover  a  woman's  face  up,  is  what  we  call 
hiding  a  light  under  a  bushel." 

YUSEF. — "  This  we  regard  as  the  philosophy  of  the  thing  : 
Every  pretty  woman  is  vain  of  her  charms.  It  is  the  weak- 
ness of  the  sex.  '  If  we  don't  keep  a  sharp  look-out,  she'll 
cast  them  forth  as  snares  to  entrap  mankind.  That's  wo- 
man's nature,  when  she's  admired.  Now,  we  hold  that  a 
wife  has  no  right  to  cast  snares  upon  any  body  but  her  hus- 
band." (I  quite  agreed  with  Yusef  in  this,  and  involuntarily 
thought  of  his  strange  dream  concerning  the  lion.)  "  Hence, 
not  being  restrained  by  reason,  because  of  her  vanity,  she  must 
be  restrained  by  masks,  and  sometimes  by  bolts  and  bars." 

GENERAL. — "  True,  very  true,  Yusef.  I  must  confess  that 
there  is  some  foundation  for  your  argument.  There  are  ex- 
treme cases  when  bolts  may  be  necessary." 

YUSEF. — "  It  stands  to  reason,  sir ;  it  arises  from  the  love 
of  flattery,  which  is  the  great  weakness  of  woman.  Have 
you  no  customs  in  your  country,  sir,  equally  strange  and  in- 
comprehensible at  first  sight?" 

GENERAL. — "No,  Yusef;  thank  heaven,  we  are  clear  of 
all  such  absurdities  as  this.  Our  most  fashionable  ladies  not 
only  keep  their  faces  uncovered  in  public,  but  frequently  ap- 


230  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

pear  in  ball-rooms  and  opera-houses,  with  scarcely  more  than 
a  piece  of  gauze  above  the  waist." 

YUSEF. — "  And  don't  they  feel  ashamed  at  all  ?" 

GENERAL. — "  By  no  means.  Those  who  desire  to  be  dis- 
tinguished in  the  world  of  fashion,  never  feel  ashamed  of  any 
thing  that  is  fashionable.  They  take  great  pride  and  pleas- 
ure in  making  the  exhibition.  It  shows  a  consciousness  of 
purity  ;  because,  if  they  were  not  certain  that  they  could  re- 
sist the  effects  of  this  display,  of  course  they  would  not  make 
it  on  any  account." 

YUSEF  (with  flashing  eyes). — "  I'd  like  to  live  there  ! 
Above  all  things,  I'd  like  that — in  another  people.  Most 
wonderful  are  the  diversities  of  custom.  An  Arab  woman 
would  be  disgraced  were  she  to  adopt  such  a  fashion." 

GENERAL. — "  Of  course  ;  that  results  from  the  benighted 
condition  of  the  female  sex  in  your  country.  Your  people  are 
behind  the  times,  Yusef.  As  civilization  progresses,  we  cast 
aside  all  these  barbarous  prejudices.  We  approximate  toward 
first  principles.  There  was  a  time,  even  in  our  country,  when 
a  lady  could  not  display  her  charms  in  public  ;  but  of  late 
years  we  have  become  fashionable  tourists.  We  go  to  Europe 
every  summer,  and  import  the  latest  improvements  in  fashion 
and  morals.  ~No  female  now  is  considered  worthy  to  mingle 
in  the  most  stylish  society,  until  she  is  up  to  the  Parisian 
standard.  We  dance  by  Paris — dress  by  Paris — eat  by  Paris 
— drink  by  Paris — and  I  rather  think  the  most  fashionable  of 
us  will  soon  sleep  by  Paris." 

YUSEF. — "  Inslutlla  !  where  is  all  this  to  stop — especially 
in  the  matter  of  dress  ?" 

GENERAL  (a  little  confused). — "  Where  is  it  to  stop  ?  Oh, 
that  I  can't  tell  you.  Perhaps  it  won't  stop  at  all  till  we 
reach  that  primitive  state  of  simplicity  from  which  we  orig- 
inally fell.  The  Parisians  are  an  extremely  natural  people, 
in  some  respects — not  at  all  restrained  in  social  life." 

YUSEF  (with  a  sigh). — "It  must  be  a  Paradise  upon  earth. 
But,  then,  I  am  told,  that  no  man  is  entitled  to  more  than  one 
wife,  by  law.  Can  he  send  her  home,  or  sell  her,  as  we  do, 
when  he  sees  another  more  beautiful  ?" 


A  SOCIAL  CHAT  WITH  YUSEF.  231 

GENERAL  (smiling). — "No,  Yusef ;  he  can't  sell  her,  but  he 
can  get  a  divorce.  If  he  be  rich,  he  can  buy  it  without  much 
trouble ;  and  if  he  be  poor,  ha  can  get  drunk  and  maltreat  her, 
and  then  swear  she  is  not  a  good  and  true  wife  ;  so  that  the 
law,  which  is  very  sagacious  in  these  matters,  perceiving  that 
there  are  faults  on  both  sides,  and  that  the  parties  can  never 
live  happily  together,  grants  a  divorce." 

YUSEF. — "  A  most  admirable  law  !  But,  yet,  it  seems  to 
me,  it  would  be  better  to  have  several  wives.  Woman  is  an 
evil  at  best — indeed,  I  may  say,  the  root  of  all  evil.  Now, 
your  excellency  knows  that  by  mixing  two  or  more  poisons 
together,  a  very  harmless  beverage  may  be  produced.  "We 
consider  that  if  a  man  be  afflicted  with  a  quarrelsome  wife, 
who  poisons  his  happiness,  the  best  thing  he  can  do  is  to  get 
some  more  poison,  and  mix  the  two  together  ;  if  two  poisons 
won't  answer,  he  should  mix  an  additional  number  in  the 
same  way.  The  remedy  is  certain  to  effect  a  cure.  "When  a 
woman  has  two  or  three  fellow-wives  to  quarrel  with,  she  can't 
spare  much  time  to  quarrel  with  her  husband.  Let  a  man  act 
discreetly,  and  profess  to  love  one  a  little  better  than  another 
whom  he  originally  professed  to  love  best,  and  there  will  soon 
be  a  very  lively  state  of  hostility  between  the  ladies  of  his 
household.  "While  they  are  fighting,  he  can  take  it  easy,  and 
smoke  the  pipe  of  peace.  That,  sir,  is  the  philosophy  of  com- 
bining evils  :  curing  a  wound  by  making  another  ;  the  true 
principle  of  counter-irritation." 

Somehow,  it  was  useless  to  argue  with  Yusef.  He  always 
got  the  better  of  me  ;  and  this  naturally  excited  my  indigna- 
tion. I,  therefore,  decided  the  matter  by  telling  him  it  was 
useless  to  talk  such  nonsense  to  me ;  that  the  Arabs  were  a 
very  wicked  and  ignorant  race  at  best,  and  he  was  the  more 
to  blame  for  entertaining  such  monstrous  doctrines,  as  he  had 
enjoyed  the  advantages  of  intercourse  with  a  more  enlight- 
ened people. 


CHAPTER  XXVIT. 

THE    GREEK   BISHOP. 

BEFORE  leaving  Baalbek  I  went  to  the  Greek  convent  to 
have  a  social  chat  with  the  patriarch,  who  was  represented 
to  be  a  very  hospitable  and  intelligent  man.  It  is  situated 
down  toward  the  lower  part  of  the  town,  not  far  from  the 
Temple  of  Santa  Barbara.  The  entrance  is  through  a  dilap- 
idated court-yard,  which  serves  as  a  sort  of  caravanserai  ibr 
camels  and  mules  ;  and  the  convent  is  little  better  than  the 
rest  of  the  hovels  around  it,  except  that  it  is  larger  and 
higher.  There  is  a  church  attached  to  it  of  ancient  and 
ruinous  appearance,  with  a  few  tawdry  ornaments  and  mis- 
erable pictures  in  the  interior.  A  Greek  monk,  who  acted  as 
our  cicerone,  told  us  that  this  church  contained  the  most  val- 
uable relic  of  any  church  in  Syria ;  that  it  was  not  commonly 
exhibited  to  strangers,  but  he  would  take  the  liberty  of  show- 
ing it  to  our  excellencies?  Having  thus  excited  our  curiosity, 
he  proceeded,  with  great  caution  and  solemnity,  to  draw 
back  some  small  black  curtains  that  covered  a  hole  in  the 
wall,  and  by  degrees  revealed  to  us  the  hole,  which  was  cased 
around  with  a  black  frame  and  covered  with  a  pane  of  glass  ; 
but  I  candidly  confess  I  could  see  nothing  in  it,  nor  could  I, 
after  the  most  persevering  inquiries  all  round,  ascertain  that 
any  body  else  had  seen  any  thing,  or  that  there  was  any  thing 
there  to  be  seen.  It  was  a  good  deal  like  some  of  the  won- 
derful things  one  is  called  upon  to  admire  now  and  then  iu 
Italy — you  go  a  great  way  to  see  them,  and  are  expected  to 
be  in  raptures,  but  for  your  life  you  can't  find  out  what  all 
the  talk  is  about ;  there  is  nothing  to  be  seen.  We  paid  a 
piastre,  however,  for  the  information,  and  I  would  recom- 


THE  GREEK  BISHOP.     -  233 

mend  all  travelers  who  go  to  Baalbek  to  do  likewise ;  they 
may  see  something,  probably  a  bone  of  the  ass  that  Baalarn 
rode,  or  a  reflected  image  of  the  face,  with  its  full  comple- 
ment of  ears. 

The  reception  room  of  the  convent  was  furnished  in  the 
Turkish  fashion,  with  a  low  platform  extending  round  the 
walls  on  three  sides,  upon  which  were  spread  rugs  of  every 
variety  of  color.  There  were  no  chairs,  nor  any  other  furni- 
ture except  a  few  bad  prints,  and  a  good  supply  of  chiboucks 
hung  up  around  the  walls.  It  was  a  great  nuisance  to  be 
obliged  to  take  off  our  shoes,  as  on  all  occasions,  no  matter 
how  many  houses  we  went  into,  how  dirty  they  were,  or  how 
cold  it  was  :  whether  there  were  rugs  on  the  ground,  or  mats, 
or,  what  was  most  common,  puddles  of  mud,  our  dragoman 
protested  that  if  we  kept  on  our  shoes  it  would  be  a  mortal 
offense  to  the  inmates  of  the  house.  I  was  often  disposed  to 
rebel  against  this  insane  practice ;  but  you  know  when  one  is 
in  Rome  he  must  be  romantic  ;  when  one  is  in  Syria  he  must 
bear  with  serious  inconveniences,  not  the  least  of  which  is 
keeping  up  a  good  understanding  with  the  natives  by  keep- 
ing the  feet  bare. 

The  bishop,  a  venerable  man,  with  a  beard  of  patriarchal 
length,  received  us  with  great  kindness  and  cordiality.  He 
said  it  was  seldom  he  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  American 
travelers  there,  and  regretted  that  we  had  not  taken  up  our 
quarters  in  the  convent.  While  we  were  talking,  coffee 
and  chiboucks  were  brought  in  by  a  domestic,  and  gracefully 
presented  to  us  in  the  Oriental  style.  As  it  is  characteristic 
of  the  East,  I  may  as  well  tell  you  the  manner  in  which  one 
is  honored  on  paying  a  visit.  You  enter  the  room,  furnish- 
ed, as  above  stated,  with  rugs  all  round,  make  your  bow,  and 
are  politely  motioned  to  a  seat ;  that  is,  to  a  seat  on  the  floor. 
If  you  can  do  it,  you  squat  down  as  much  like  a  tailor  as  pos- 
sible ;  if  you  can't,  you  stretch  out  both  legs  and  get  your 
back  against  the  wall.  Do  let  me  persuade  you  to  try  it,  if  you 
want  to  know  how  odd  it  feels.  The  form  of  salutation  de- 
pends pretty  much  on  the  relative  rank  of  each  party.  Where 
there  is  not  much  ceremony  it  is  merely  a  bow  and  the  hand 


234  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

is  placed  over  the  breast ;  where  the  civility  is  intended  to  Be 
very  marked,  as  in  the  native  form,  the  visitor  makes  a  dive 
at  the  hern  of  the  host's  garment  as  if  he  would  catch  it  up 
and  kiss  it ;  but  the  host,  perceiving  the  intended  honor,  dives 
down  at  the  same  moment  to  prevent  it,  and,  as  if  by  acci- 
dent catches  the  hand  of  his  guest  and  helps  him  up  with  it 
part  of  the  way ;  when  each  touches  his  breast,  mouth,  and 
ibrehead  with  his  own  hand  ;  sometimes  repeating  the  dive, 
but  this  is  only  when  a  man  is  electioneering  for  some  office, 
or  calls  to  borrow  a  few  hundred  piasters,  in  which  case  he 
dives  down  a  great  many  times. 

Supposing  you  to  be  seated  now,  a  servant  enters,  bearing 
a  tray,  upon  which  are  several  cups  of  coffee  about  the  size 
of  egg-cups,  and  these  are  handed  round  and  presented  with 
a  graceful  bow  to  each  visitor.  The  coffee  is  as  thick  as  choc 
olate,  and  at  first  it  may  lodge  in  your  throat,  but  after  a 
while  one  learns  to  like  it.  Chiboucks  are  then  brought.  The 
stems  are  about  six  feet  in  length,  and  the  bowl  being  placed 
on  the  ground  in  a  little  brass  pan  at  the  proper  distance,  the 
mouthpiece  is  whirled  around  dextrously  by  the  domestic, 
who  calculates  the  distance  so  nicely  that  he  brings  it  within 
the  sixteenth  of  an  inch  of  its  destination.  The  smoking 
begins,  and  if  you  have  good  Djebel  or  Latakia  tobacco,  it  is, 
as  my  friend  the  English  captain  says,  quite  stunning.  Con- 
versation goes  on  between  the  whiffs,  and  is  as  lively  as  such 
conversation  can  be  where  one  naturally  thinks  in  English, 
communicates  his  ideas  to  his  dragoman  in  Italian  or  French, 
has  them  translated  into  Turkish,  Arabic,  or  Greek,  and 
learns  the  result  in  about  ten  minutes  from  the  time  of  start- 
ing. I  often,  after  a  good  deal  of  difficulty,  got  out  a  joke 
and  made  my  interpreter  understand  the  full  bearings  of  it ; 
when  he  would  set  to  work,  jabbering  in  some  horrible  un- 
known tongue,  taking  so  long  to  tell  it  that  the  whole  thing 
would  quite  escape  my  memory,  and  it  was  only  in  about  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  after,  that  an  explosion  of  laughter  would 
startle  me  out  of  my  cloud  of  smoke  ;  for  a  joke  is  never  so  stale 
or  so  trifling  as  not  to  cause  a  laugh  in  the  East.  As  I  made 
it  a  point,  Iwvever  never  to  talk  French  or  Italian  to  Yusef 


THE  GREEK  BISHOP.  23A 

where  there  was  a  probability  of  these  languages  being  un- 
derstood (by  which  means  I  passed  for  rather  a  learned  man), 
he  translated  from  English  in  the  present  case.  The  worthy 
patriarch  felt  a  good  deal  interested  in  the  fact,  usually  an- 
nounced by  Yusef  in  terms  of  great  pomposity,  that  I  had 
traveled  a  long  way,  and  had  been  in  California.  The  old 
gentleman  had  heard  some  fabulous  accounts  of  California, 
and,  after  some  exclamations  of  wonder  at  seeing  before  him 
a  live  person  from  that  strange  land,  he  delivered  himself  as 
follows:  "It  is  a  wonderful  country,  I  know;  thousands  of 
miles  off;  away  at  the  other  side  of  London.  They  dig  up 
whole  mountains  of  gold  there,  and  catch  fish  without  eyes. 
God  Almighty  kills  them  because  they  are  wicked;  also 
food  is  scarce.  The  sun  is  very  hot ;  there  is  great  thirst ;  like- 
wise men  burrow  holes  in  the  ground  the  same  as  rats.  Oh, 
I  don't  want  to  go  to  California.  It  is  a  bad  country.  Better 
stay  here  in  Baalbek  and  praise  God."  I  thought  so  too,  and 
desired  Yusef  to  tell  his  Reverence  that  it  would  be  better  for 
him  not  to  go  to  California,  if  he  had  any  notion  that  way  ; 
in  fact,  that  he  would  do  much  better  reclaiming  benighted 
Arabs  in  Baalbek  than  digging  for  gold  on  the  banks  of  the 
Sacramento,  and  would  find  a  more  fertile  harvest  in.  his  own 
professional  line. 

We  had  further  conversation  on  various  topics,  after  which, 
with  many  kind  wishes,  the  patriarch  bid  us  good-by,  and 
wished  us  a  pleasant  tour  through  Syria ;  expressing  at  the 
same  time  his  regret  that  we  had  not  found  it  convenient  to 
come  at  once  to  the  convent  instead  of  going  to  a  native 
house. 

I  went  down  again  during  the  forenoon  to  the  ruins,  and 
made  a  sketch  of  the  Temple  of  the  Sun  and  a  general  view 
of  the  whole  of  Baalbek.  Near  the  main  ruin  is  a  very 
beautiful  little  Temple,  which  I  omitted  to  mention  before, 
built  chiefly  of  marble,  and  very  highly  decorated.  It  re- 
minded me  a  good  deal  of  the  Temple  of  the  Winds  at  Athens. 
The  form  is  octagonal,  and  there  is  a  portico  all  round,  sup- 
ported by  eight  Corinthian  columns,  between  which  in  the 
niches  are  the  remains  of  pedestals  upon  which  formerly  stood 


236  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

statues.  The  Greek  priests  suppose  this  to  be  the  tower,  oi 
Santa  Barbara.  By  some  travelers  it  is  compared  to  the 
Temple  of  Janus  at  Rome.  Two  little  streams  of  water  run 
through  the  town,  one  of  which  passes  under  this  temple. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  ruins  in  Baalbek  is  that  of 
the  ancient  mosque,  in  which  is  seen  the  tomb  of  Saladin.  I 
had  some  doubts  as  to  this  being  the  ruin  of  a  mosque  ;  but, 
in  the  absence  of  any  better  information  than  that  of  our 
dragoman,  had  to  take  it  as  such.  There  is  a  high  wall,  in- 
closing a  space  of  some  hundreds  of  yards  square,  in  which 
are  rows  of  vast  arches,  sustained  by  pillars,  covering  the 
entire  interior.  Looking  through  underneath  it  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  perfect  forest  of  pillars.  Near  the  entrance  is 
a  little  tomb,  built  of  rough  stone,  apparently  of  Saracenic 
construction,  upon  one  end  of  which  is  an  inscription  in 
Arabic.  This  is  said  to  be  the  tomb  of  the  famous  Saladin, 
the  conqueror  of  the  Christian  hosts  on  the  fields  of  Hatin 
and  of  Esdraelon.  I  did  not  read  the  inscription  ;  so  I  am 
unable  to  tell  you  what  it  means. 

There  are  some  few  objects  of  interest  in  the  way  of  ruined 
walls  and  arches,  containing  patches  of  the  antique,  scattered 
about  through  the  town  and  the  neighborhood,  all  of  which 
we  thoroughly  examined ;  but  they  are  so  much  like  any 
other  ruins  that  the  interest  depends  mainly  upon  their  being 
in  Baalbek,  where  every  body  can  not  go  to  see  them,  as  in 
Rome  or  Athens. 

Tired  of  rambling  about,  I  sat  down  on  an  eminence  over- 
looking the  ruins,  and  began  to  think  seriously  and  soberly 
of  all  that  I  had  seen,  and  to  divest  myself  of  the  first  en- 
thusiastic impressions,  so  as  to  arrive  at  some  reasonable  idea 
of  what  Baalbek  must  have  been  in  the  days  of  its  glory. 
Sober  second  thought  is  a  good  deal  like  a  written  contract ; 
it  brings  both  parties  (the  imagination  and  the  judgment)  to 
a  proper  understanding,  and  leaves  no  room  for  visionary  spec- 
ulation or  loose  interpretation. 

That  Baalbek  was  a  city  abounding  in  fine  edifices  is  suf- 
ficiently apparent  from  the  magnificence  of  its  ruins.  One 
can  not  but  deplore  the  desolation  of  those  splendid  temples, 


THE  GREEK  BISHOP.  237 

and  the  loss  of  the  many  works  of  art  buried  there,  among 
•which  must  have  been  some  of  the  choicest  of  ancient  times  ; 
and  while  there  is  so  much  left  to  admire  it  is  not  improbable 
that,  in  the  lapse  of  centuries,  there  may  have  been  much 
destroyed  equally  worthy  of  admiration.  But  that  Baalbek 
ever  was  a  very  extensive  or  very  important  city  is  not,  I 
think,  rendered  probable  by  any  evidence  now  existing.  The 
foundations  of  the  ancient  walls,  which  can  be  clearly  traced, 
embrace  but  a  small  area  of  ground,  certainly  not  sufficient 
for  a  very  large  city ;  and  its  position,  shut  in  among  the 
mountains  of  Lebanon,  two  days  distant  from  any  seaport, 
and  not  on  the  usually  traveled  route  from  the  interior  cities 
of  Asia  Minor,  indicates  that  it  was  not  supported  by  com- 
merce. It  is  also  probable  that  the  Temple  of  the  Sun  and 
the  Palace  were  the  most  important  of  all  the  public  edifices ; 
and  that  the  streets  were  narrow  and  badly  paved,  without 
side  walks,  as  in  all  the  cities  of  the  East,  and  the  residences 
of  ordinary  construction  ;  because  even  a  small  city  could  not 
be  embraced  in  so  limited  a  space  with  any  thing  like  fine 
streets  or  large  houses.  If  the  implements  of  agriculture  were 
not  a  good  deal  better  than  any  that  exist  in  Syria  at  the 
present  day  (and  it  is  said  they  are  about  the  same  as  were 
used  in  scriptural  times),  the  plain  of  Bukaa  must  have  been 
more  indebted  to  Nature  than  to  the  cultivation  of  man  for 
its  reputed  fertility.  Probably  there  were  more  trees  on  it, 
and  some  gardens  and  vineyards  for  the  supply  of  the  town. 
The  inhabitants  must  have  lived  on  something,  and  it  is  not 
likely  they  had  much  else  to  eat  except  what  they  produced 
on  this  plain.  But  there  is  no  evidence  of  a  luxurious  style 
of  living.  If  ever  there  were  carriages,  they  must  have  trav- 
eled in  the  air,  with  mules  or  horses  at  each  end,  as  they  do 
now ;  for  there  is  nothing  to  show  that  there  were  roads  fit 
for  wheeled  vehicles  to  run  on.  Sometimes  a  piece  of  an  old 
Roman  road  is  seen  along  the  coast,  and  poor  enough  it  must 
have  been  in  its  best  days ;  but  I  could  discover  nothing  of 
the  kind  about  Baalbek.  I  think  the  inhabitants  of  the  glo- 
rious City  of  the  Sun  rode  on  donkeys.  At  all  events,  donkeys 
must  have  been  convenient  in  climbing  through  the  streets, 


238  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

unless  the  style  of  paving  was  a  good  deal  better  than  any 
thing  done  throughout  the  East  in  modern  times,  of  which 
there  is  no  evidence  in  the  specimens  that  remain. 

In  sober  truth,  the  more  I  thought  about  Baalbek  as  it 
was,  the  more  I  became  impressed  with  the  idea  that  we  are 
apt  to  magnify  the  grandeur  of  every  thing  ancient,  and  en- 
courage false  impressions  by  feeding  the  mind  with  the  poetry 
of  the  past.  There  was  as  much  reality  then  as  there  is  at 
present ;  men  were  human  and  all  their  works  were  human ; 
and  the  ruins  of  those  works  derive  much  of  their  effect  from 
the  lapse  of  time.  To  an  imaginative  mind  a  broken  column 
is  more  beautiful  covered  with  the  mould  of  ages,  than  one 
of  precisely  the  same  form,  new  and  complete.  There  must 
have  been  a  time  when  those  works  were  new,  and  when 
contemporary  architects  and  critics  held  the  same  opinion  of 
them,  compared  with  something  more  antique,  as  we  do  now 
of  what  is  done  in  our  day,  compared  with  what  was  done 
the.n.  The  enchantment  that  distance  lends  is  lent  to  all 
these  temples  and  relics  of  ancient  grandeur  with  a  most 
liberal  hand.  I  saw  in  Jerusalem  a  picture  of  Baalbek  re- 
built as  it  originally  stood,  beautifully  drawn  by  a  competent 
artist ;  and,  comparing  it  with  drawings  of  the  ruins,  I  must 
say  that  Baalbek  in  ruins,  with  a  little  room  for  the  imagina- 
tion, is  much  grander  and  more  imposing  than  Baalbek,  com- 
plete as  it  existed  in  ages  past,  with  nothing  beyond  mere 
reality  to  look  to. 

But  it  will  not  do  to  indulge  in  this  train  of  thought.  Strip 
the  past  of  all  its  romance,  and  there  is  little  left  to  write 
about.  What  reader  will  be  satisfied  with  plain  facts  ?  what 
reader  will  be  satisfied  with  the  simple  unadorned  truth — 
except  the  few  that  I  hope  to  honor  me  with  a  perusal  of 
these  pages  ?  and  it  is  only  to  that  rare  but  enlightened  class 
that  I  dare  to  address  such  unpopular  views. 

In  my  rambles  about  the  village  of  Baalbek  I  was  struck 
with  the  beauty  of  the  children,  and  the  extreme  youthfulness 
of  some  of  the  Arab  mothers.  I  saw  several  young  females, 
not  more  than  twelve  or  fourteen  years  of  age,  with  babies  in 
their  arms,  evidently  their  own ;  and  I  was  told  that  this  is 


THE  GREEK  BISHOP.  239 

quite  common  throughout  Syria.  Many  of  the  wore  en  are 
very  beautiful — much  more  so,  I  think,  than  either  the  Cir- 
cassian or  the  Turkish  women.  It  was  quite  enchanting, 
their  fine  complexions,  dark  eyebrows,  and  flashing  eyes  ;  and 
for  regularity  and  delicacy  of  features  I  have  seldom  seen 
them  equaled,  except  in  other  parts  of  Syria.  In  Nazareth  I 
saw  some  of  the  best  formed  and  most  beautiful  women  I  had 
ever  seen  in  any  country;  I  believe  it  is  noted  as  much  for 
the  beauty  of  its  female  popiilation  among  tourists  as  for  its 
historical  interest ;  but  at  no  place  did  I  see  what  I  really 
thought  approached  the  perfection  of  beauty  in  so  high  a  de- 
gree as  in  Bethlehem.  The  women  of  Bethlehem  are  abso- 
lutely bewitching.  I  never  saw  such  perfect  profiles,  such 
eyes  and  eyebrows,  and  such  delicate  little  hands  and  feet. 
Not  that  I  mean  to  say  that  they  are  at  all  to  be  compared 
in  all  the  higher  attributes  of  beauty  to  our  own  fair  country- 
women, for  that  would  be  sacrilege.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
East,  or  in  Europe  either,  or  any  where  else  that  I  have  ever 
visited,  to  compare  with  the  ladies  of  Philadelphia,  Baltimore, 
and  Washington.  Talk  of  Parisian  beauties  !  Lively  and 
vivacious  they  are,  to  be  sure  ;  but  not  dignified,  not  queenly, 
not  gentle  and  modest.  Talk  of  English  beauties  !  Grand 
enough  and  fair,  but  not  graceful.  Italian  beauties ;  dark, 
dull,  and  greasy.  German,  fat  and  florid  ;  Turkish,  tallowy 
and  buttery ;  all  well  enough  in  their  way  ;  but,  Mashalla  ! 
it  won't  do  to  mention  them  in  the  same  breath  with  Ameri- 
can beauties. 

And  now  good-by  to  Baalbek.  We  are  ofT  for  Damascus, 
galloping  out  through  the  ruins  and  over  the  prostrate  relics 
of  the  past  as  merrily  as  if  they  were  only  so  much  rubbish. 


CHAPTER  XXVIIL 

THE  ARAB  MULETEER. 

A  MOST  indispensable  and  striking  character  "in  Syrian 
travel  is  the  Arab  muleteer.  Every  party  of  Frangi  has  its 
baggage  train  of  mules ;  and  generally  every  mule  has  its 


MUSTAFA,  THE  ARAB  MULETEER. 


separate  owner,  who  does  the  driving,  feeding,  loading,  and 
smoking.  These  mules  are  hired  at  Beirut,  or  wherever  the 
starting  point  may  be,  by  the  dragoman,  who  makes  his  own 


THE  ARAB  MULETEER.  24) 

bargain  with  the  muleteers.  For  a  mule  and  driver  the 
usual  price  is  ten  to  fifteen  piasters  a  day.  On  this  sum  the 
muleteer  must  feed  himself  and  mule,  and  pay  all  his  ordinary 
expenses  throughout  the  journey.  It  is  not  much  to  be  sure  ; 
only  forty  or  fifty  cents  a  day  for  personal  attendance,  expenses 
on  the  road,  and  risk  and  interest  on  capital ;  but  it  seems  to 
be  enough,  for  at  the  end  of  the  journey  our  men  appeared  t< 
have  sufficient  left  to  keep  them  till  the  next  trip 

The  Arab  muleteer  is  a  practical  philosopher  and  man  of 
the  world.  There  is  nothing  to  trouble  him  but  his  mule, 
and  that  only  troubles  him  when  it  wakes  him  up  by  running 
off  the  road  or  throwing  him  into  a  ditch.  He  wants  but 
little  here  below,  and  has  a  happy  knack  of  getting  that  little 
almost  free  of  expense.  His  mule  must  be  fed  or  it  will  die 
in  the  course  of  time,  but  that  want  he  supplies  by  taking  the 
oats  and  barley  out  of  the  trough  where  the  horses  of  the 
Howadji  feed  at  night,  and  putting  them  in  the  place  where 
his  mule  ought  to  be  feeding.  He  does  this  when  the  drago- 
man is  not  present,  because  if  the  dragoman  saw  it,  there 
would  certainly,  be  an  unpleasant  state  of  feeling  between  the 
parties.  The  muleteer  is  a  man  of  peace  ;  he  wishes  to  get 
along  in  the  world  as  quietly  as  possible  ;  hence  he  feeds  his 
mules  as  far  as  practicable  at  the  expense  of  others,  and  says 
nothing  about  it,  from  a  natural  repugnance  to  disturbances 
of  the  peace.  To  be  sure  the  horses  of  the  Howadji  sometimes 
look  unaccountably  lank  and  dispirited ;  and  the  mules  un- 
accountably thriving  and  frisky,  but  what  difference  doe? 
that  make  to  the  muleteer.?  If  it  makes  any  difference  at  all 
it  is  in  his  favor ;  it  prolongs  the  journey,  adds  so  much  to 
his  pay,  and  affords  him  in  some  degree  an  equivalent  for  the 
beatings  which  he  daily  receives  from  the  dragoman.  Besides 
what  the  horses  lose  in  flesh  the  mules  gain.  Sometimes  the 
dragoman  swears  that  he  gives  the  horses  a  bushel  of  barley 
apiece  at  night,  and  they  don't  seem  to  be  a  bit  the  better  for 
it  next  morning  ;  there  must  be  thieves  about ;  he  determines 
to  watch  them,  and  to  shoot  the  first  man  whose  hand  he 
sees  in  the  horse-trough.  At  last  the  horses  grow  so  lank  and 
dejected  that  he  does  watch  ;  he  sees  a  hand  in  the  bancy  ; 

L 


242  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

it  is  the  hand  of  the  muleteer.  The  shooting  is  postponed  till 
next  morning  on  account  of  the  danger  of  wounding  the 
horses ;  but  the  muleteer  is  whipped  with  a  cane  till  he  swears 
by  the  beard  of  the  Prophet  he  will  never  do  so  again.  For 
a  few  days  the  horses  look  better  ;  but  this  doesn't  alter  the 
general  principle,  because  the  mules  begin  to  look  just  as  lean 
and  spiritless  as  the  horses  did  before.  The  muleteer  is  willing 
to  be  honest ;  he  would  like  to  be  on  good  terms  with  the 
world  generally ;  but  it  is  not  in  his  nature,  or  any  other 
man's  nature  to  stand  such  treatment  as  this.  Hence  he  re- 
sumes his  previous  policy  as  soon  as  he  can  safely  do  so,  arid 
continues  to  be  whipped  occasionally  when  caught  with  his 
hand  in  the  wrong  place.  Whipping,  however,  is  one  of  the 
ills  that  the  flesh  of  the  muleteer  is  heir  to.  He  takes  it  hard 
apparently,  but  it  goes  easy  enough  in  reality.  A  good  deal 
of  the  pain  of  whipping  is  mental,  as  any  school-boy  can 
testify.  With  him,  it  is  only  skin  deep ;  his  skin  is  tough 
from  exposure,  and  is  not  readily  affected. 

He  takes  life  easy,  as  a  matter  of  personal  convenience ; 
sometimes  sleeping  on  the  top  of  the  baggage,  which  is  on 
the  top  of  the  mule,  and  sometimes  trotting  along  with  his 
comrades,  listening  to  pleasant  stories  of  genii  arid  dragons, 
or  telling  some  pretty  tough  ones  himself,  but  always  in  that 
happy  and  contented  frame  of  mind  which  evinces  an  entire 
absence  of  care.  Clothing  never  annoys  him  at  all  ;  a  shirt 
or  two  and  an  old  sash  last  him  a  lifetime ;  breeches  he  wears 
little  or  none ;  shoes  are  superfluous,  except  when  his  circum- 
stances are  affluent.  What  if  he  have  nothing  to  eat  now 
and  then  ?  He  can  smoke  the  pipe  of  bliss,  arid  sleep  the  sleep 
of  oblivion.  What  if  he  be  out  of  tobacco  ?  No  matter;  the 
Howadji  will  give  him  some.  Moreover,  he  knows  where  the 
bag  is  kept,  and  can  help  himself,  provided  nobody  be  looking 
on.  Food  is  the  least  of  his  wants.  A  bunch  of  grapes  or  figs 
and  a  piece  of  leather  bread  satisfy  all  his  necessities  in  this 
respect  ;  and  occasionally  there  are  pots  and  pans  that  come 
in  as  a  sort  a  relish,  to  be  licked  when  the  dragoman  has 
been  drinking  a  little  arrack,  and  feels  unusually  good-na- 
tured. A  very  happy  fellow  is  the  Arab  muleteer,  take  him 


THE  ARAB  MULETEER.  243 

altogether,  sleeping  and  smoking  his  way  through  life  on  a 
capital  of  one  mule.  When  he  gets  rich  by  making  a  fortune 
of  ten  dollars,  he  buys  a  small  ass,  so  that  he  can  ride  after 
his  mule,  and  boast  an  ass  of  his  own ;  and  then  he  assumes 
the  honorable  position  of  a  Howadji  among  muleteers,  and  is, 
to  all  intents  and  purposes, 


A  GENTLEMAN   OF  ELEGANT  LEISURE. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

FROM    BAALBEK    TO    DAMASCUS. 

ABOUT  noon  we  left  the  ruins  of  Baalbek  behind  us,  and 
proceeded  through  the  plain  of  Bukaa  toward  Damascus. 
Our  road  lay  along  the  base  of  Anti-Lebanon.  _  The  aspect 
of  the  whole  country  was  sterile  and  desolate  in  the  extreme. 
There  was  not  a  shrub  on  the  wayside  to  relieve  the  utter  bar- 
renness of  the  scene,  or  intercept  the  dazzling  glare  of  the  sun, 
which  even  now  in  midwinter  had  something  left  of  its  sum- 
mer fierceness.  The  weather  was  not  warm  ;  but  the  whit- 
ish cast  of  the  earth  and  the  unclouded  brilliancy  of  the  sky, 
gave  that  intensity  of  light  so  characteristic  of  Syria,  and 
which  is  so  destructive  to  the  sight  that  nearly  half  the  inhab- 
itants are  afflicted  with  ophthalmia.  Not  far  from  the  outer 
walls  of  Baalbek,  we  saw  the  quarries  from  which  the  stone 
for  the  Temple  of  the  Sun  and  all  the  public  edifices  was 
taken.  Large  gaps,  in  the  form  of  an  amphitheatre,  are  cut 
in  the  solid  rock,  from  which  the  immense  blocks  of  stone  in 
the  castle  were  taken.  The  ground  or  bottom  of  the  quar> 
ries  is  covered  with  detached  blocks,  cut  away,  trimmed,  and 
ready  for  transportation.  It  is  a  strange  sight  to  see  these 
pieces  there,  just  as  they  were  left  in  ages  past,  fresh  from 
the  hands  of  the  masons.  One  block  of  stone  is  of  immense 
length.  It  is  said  to.be  larger  and  longer  than  any  found  in 
the  ruins  of  Baalbek  I  think  our  dragoman  said  the  length 
was  sixty-seven  feet.  The  Arabs  have  another  legend  con- 
nected with  this  stone,  rather  harder  to  credit  than  the  story 
of  the  column.  They  say  that  the  Sultan,  when  he  was 
building  the  Castle  of  Baalbek,  found  all  the  men  in  his  king- 
dom unable  to  remove  this  stone,  so  great  was  its  weight.  A 


FROM   BAALBEK  TO  DAMASCUS.  .         245 

woman,  standing  near,  and  seeing  all  their  efforts  unavailing, 
said  ;  ".Upon  my  soul !  a  nice  set  of  fellows  you  arc  not  to 
be  able  to  ca*rry  a  little  stone  !"  "  Little  !"  quoth  they  ;  "do 
you  call  this  little  ?"  "  To  be  sure  I  do,"  said  the  woman  ; 
"  a  mere  nothing.  If  you  were  men  you  could  carry  it." 
"  Hear  her  !"  said  they.  "  Why,  one  would  think  you  could 
carry  it  yourself,  the  way  you  talk."  "  Carry  it !  Of  course 
I  can,"  said  she ;  whereupon  she  laid  hold  of  the  stone,  lifted 
it  up  on  her  back,  and  trotted  all  the  way  with  it  to  Baalbek, 
where  she  laid  it  down  by  the  castle-wall.  "  Now,"  said  she 
to  the  Sultan,  who  was  superintending  the  work,  "  give  me 
ten  thousand  piastres  for  carrying  this  stone  here."  "  May  1 
be  kicked  like  a  dog  if  I  do,"  said  the  Sultan,  in  a  rage. 
"What!  have  all  my  men  disgraced,  and  then  pay  a  slave 
of  a  woman  for  doing  it !  Get  thee  away,  wretch  !"  "  Oh, 
ho!"  said  the  woman;  "is  that  the  way  you  talk?"  Where- 
upon she  seized  the  Sultan  by  the  back  of  the  neck,  and  pitched 
him  headlong  into  a  neighboring  ditch,  giving  him  a  kick  as 
he  went.  "By  my  soul  !"  quoth  she,  "men  are  forgetting 
their  place  nowadays.  They  are  getting  as  impertinent  and 
conceited  as  popinjays."  With  that  she  seized  hold  of  the 
stone  again,  tumbled  it  over  on  her  back,  and  trotted  all  the 
way  back  with  it  to  the  quarry,  where  the  workmen  were 
still  looking  at  one  another  in  silent  astonishment.  "  There," 
said  the  woman,  pitching  the  stone  down  ;  "  I  told  you  so  ! 
You  had  better  go  now  arid  help  the  Sultan  out  of  the  diteh. 
He's  floundering  about  there  like  a  mud-turtle."  Saying 
which,  she  slapped  the  chief  workman  heels  over  head,  be- 
cause he  was  staring  at.  her,  and  went  off  dancing  the  Haas, 
since  which  time  the  stone  has  remained  just  as  she  left  it. 
The  Arabs  pointed  it  out  to  us,  and  said  there  was  no  doubt 
about  the  truth  of  the  story,  for  the  stone  was  in  the  very 
same  spot.  That  they  believed  every  word  of  it  themselves 
was  quite  evident ;  and  we,  of  course,  believed  as  much  as 
we  could. 

Passing  some  ancient  tombs  on  the  left,  we  descended  into 
a  rocky  valley,  called  Wady  Ain  Tihebeh,  or  the  valley  of 
the  well.  Here  there  were  some  camels  feeding  near  by  the 


24fc  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

fountain.     They  had  come  over  from  Damascus  with  packs 
of  merchandise  for  Baalbek  ;  and  so  picturesque  they  looked, 
all  lying  down  in  a  circle,  with  their  masters  sitting  on  the 
ruined  fountain  smoking,  that  I  fain  had  to  stop  and  make  a 
sketch  of  them.     Soon  after,  we  came  to  the  village  of  Tihe- 
beh,  a  miserable  collection  of  huts,  with  the  white  dome  of  a 
mosque  in  the  centre.     About  this  point  we  struck  off  to  the 
left  from  the  plain  of  Bukaa,  and  shortly  came  to  the  valley 
of  Nebusheet ;  from  which  we  climbed  up  a  very  rocky  path, 
hardly  practicable  for  our  horses,  to  the  village  of  Nebusheet. 
In  this  village  there  is  a  mosque  containing  a  large  tomb, 
called  by  the  inhabitants  the  Tomb  of  the  Prophet  Nebu- 
sheet.    None  others  but  the  followers  of  Nebusheet  live  in. 
the  village,  and  they  are  known  as  Meitmaleh.     They  revere 
the  tomb  of  their  prophet  as  the  Mohammedans  do  at  Mecca  ; 
but  it  is  only  in  secret  or  among  themselves  that  they  dare 
to  avow  their  belief.     When  among  the  Turks  they  pray  like 
Turks,  and  profess  to  acknowledge  the  superior  power  of  Mo- 
hammed ;   but  they  are  looked  upon  generally  as  heretics, 
and  are  not  admitted  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  Moham- 
medan faith.     For  instance,  they  c£ln  not  go  to  Mecca,  or 
enter  the  Mosque  of  Omar  at  Jerusalem.     In  the  valley  be- 
yond Nebusheet  there  is  a  rapid  stream  of  good  water,  from 
which  the  village  is  supplied.     The  labor  required  to  carry 
the  water  up  the  rocky  path,  a  distance  of  nearly  a  mile, 
must  be  prodigious.     The  Arab  men  know  very  well  that  it 
is  harder  work  than  smoking  the  chibouck  ;  so  they  attend  to 
the  smoking,  and  make  the  women  and  children  carry  the 
water.     We  met  in  the  pass  some  thirty  or  forty  women  and 
children,  with  scarce  any  thing  but  rags  on  them,  bearing 
great  earthen  pitchers  on  their  heads  ;  and  yet  they  toiled  up 
the  rocks  singing  merrily,  as  if  theirs  was  as  happy  a  life  as 
any ;  perhaps  it  was.     About  the  same  number  were  going 
down,  being  thus  continually  engaged  in  the  hardest  possible 
labor,  while  the  men  were  sitting  up  in  the  village,  smoking 
or  doing  nothing.     I  thought  that  in  warm  weather  it  must 
keep  half  the  population  of  Nebusheet  thirsty  to  keep  the 
other  half  supplied  with  water.      The  stream  below  is  called 


FROM  BAALBEK  TO  DAMASCUS.  247 

the  river  of  Surgoya  ;  and  is  a  pretty  strong  stream  for  its  size, 
driving  several  mills.  At  one  of  these  mills  we  stopped  to 
lunch.  The  hoppers  were  going  at  a  great  rate,  and  I  peep- 
ed in  to  see  how  the  grinding  was  done.  The  miller  wore  a 
turban,  and  had  so  much  dust  in  his  beard  that  he  looked 
like  an  old  Pasha.  "  MarJiabba,"  said  he,  which  means  how 
d'ye  do,  or  good  morning,  or  something  of  the  kind ;  "  Mar- 
habba,"  said  I,  and  I ' crept  in  through  the  low  doorway. 
Now,  I  had  seen  some  few  mills  in  my  time,  but  never  such 
a  mill  as  this.  The  whole  machinery  consisted  of  a  round 
rough  stone,  with  a  hole  through  it,  in  which  was  wedged 
a  thick  shaft  of  wood.  At  the  bottom  of  the  shaft  were  some 
paddles,  against  which  the  water  dashed  at  one  side,  turning 
the  shaft,  and  with  the  shaft  the  grindstone.  A  bag  of  wheat 
was  hung  over  the  hopper,  to  which  was  fastened  a  piece  of 
stick  that  ran  over  the  stone,  and  by  its  vibration  jerked  out 
the  wheat.  The  miller,  seeing  my  wonder,  thought  it  arose 
from  inability  on-  my  part  to  understand  the  complexity  of  all 
this  machinery ;  and  with  great  good-nature  he  explained  the 
whole  process  in  Arabic,  pointing  with  much  satisfaction  at 
each  part,  and  showing  me  by  a  whirling  motion  of  the  arm 
that  it  was  the  going  round  of  the  grindstone  that  ground  the 
wheat.  This  idea  of  the  wonderful  manner  in  which  the  wheat 
was  reduced  to  meal  had  such  a  hold  upon  his  imagination 
that  he  jumped  on  the  grindstone  to  stop  it,  in  order  that  I 
might  see  for  myself.  But  the  stone  wouldn't  stop  imme- 
diately, and  it  was  only  after  being  tilted  on  his  back  once  or 
twice  that  the  worthy  miller  succeeded  in  getting  himself 
braced  against  a  post  so  as  to  stop  the  mill.  Then  he  took 
up  a  handful  of  the  meal,  and  showed  me  that  it  was  really 
ground  by  that  same  machinery,  which  he  made  still  clearer 
to  my  mind  by  a  copious  dissertation  in  Arabic  on  grist-mills 
as  a  general  thing.  "  Tahib.'"  said  he,  signifying  "good." 
"  Tahib"  said  I,  and  crept  out  through  the  same  hole  that  I 
entered,  very  much  pleased  with  my  visit. 

On  leaving  the  mill,  we  passed  through  a  long  winding 
valley,  hemmed  in  on  the  right  and  left  by  low  monotonous 
hills,  dotted  over  with  oak  bushes,  and  uninhabited  for  many 


248  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

miles,  save  by  a  few  goat-herds.  We  were  so  disgusted  with 
the  monotony  of  this  valley  that  we  forgot  to  ask  the  name. 
Ascending  and  descending  through  several  passes,  we  at 
length  entered  another  valley,  through  which  runs  a  stream 
that  waters  the  valley  of  Zehdene.  Yusef  had  gone  on  to 
the  village  to  look  out  for  lodgings ;  and  my  two  friends  and 
myself,  tired  of  lagging  behind  with  the  mules,  pushed  on 
for  Zebdene,  in  hopes  of  reaching  it  before  dark.  Crossing 
the  stream  in  half  an  hour  or  so,  we  ascended  a  hill  on  the 
other  side,  and  here  we  found  two  roads  going  nearly  in  the 
same  direction  and  of  nearly  equal  size.  We  took  the  upper 
one,  which  of  course  was  the  wrong  one.  By  the  time  we 
had  ridden  a  mile  it  was  quite  dark,  and  we  found  from  the 
lights  in  another  direction  that  we  had  made  a  mistake. 
There  being  no  other  path,  we  had  to  retrace  our  steps,  which 
is  not  pleasant  in  Syria,  where  every  step  is  a  matter  of  study 
for  both  horse  and  rider,  and  stepping  in  the  dark  especially. 
We  returned  again  to  the  valley,  from  which  we  heard  the 
muleteers  coming  down  the  side  of  the  mountain,  shouting 
loudly  to  the  jaded  animals.  They  reached  us  presently,  and 
we  all  pushed  on  together  for  Zebdene.  It  was  one  of  the 
most  pleasant  rides  we  had  enjoyed  during  our  tour.  The 
moon  came  out,  as  we  ascended  the  banks  of  the  stream,  and 
it  became  a  mild,  clear  night,  with  the  towering  mountains  in 
full  view  all  around  us,  and  the  snow-capt  heights  of  Djebel- 
esh-Sheik  glimmering  in  the  distance.  Tne  sharp  cry  of  a 
jackal  from  the  ravine  on  the  other  side  of  the  stream  had  a 
wild  and  startling  effect  in  the  stillness  of  the  night ;  and  the 
strange  stories  of  Eleas  and  the  muleteers  about  robberies 
and  murders  in  these  lonesome  glens  made  us  involuntarily 
look  toward  every  thicket  on  the  roadside.  It  was  not  an 
agreeable  idea,  take  it  altogether,  that  of  having  our  legs  cut 
off,  as  was  done  with  one  traveler,  or  our  skulls  battered  in 
with  clubs,  as  another  was  served  not  long  before,  or  even  tt» 
be  politely  requested  to  give  up  our  money,  and  compelled  to 
make  the  rest  of  our  tour  on  charity.  Yusef  had  taken  with 
him  all  the  guns,  pistols,  and  swords — and,  worse  than  that,  all 
the  propensity  for  fighting  that  was  in  the  party.  We  might 


FROM  BAALBEK  TO  DAMASCUS.  248 

have  fought  upon  a  pinch,  but  I  believe  we  preferred  not  fight- 
ing. For  my  own  part,  I  had  made  up  my  mind,  if  attacked 
by  the  robbers,  to  offer  them  my  old  coat,  two  shirts,  a  tooth- 
brush, a  small  pocket  comb,  some  sketches  of  Baalbek,  and  a 
few  short-hand  notes  from  which  these  pages  are  written,  to- 
gether with  a  draft"  on  my  friend  the  Southerner,  who  was 
kindly  paying  my  way  to  Alexandria,  where  I  expected  a  re- 
mittance. I  had  likewise  about  me  some  small  paper  money, 
amounting  to  twenty  kreutzers  (sixteen  cents),  payable  in 
Austria  in  the  course  of  forty  or  fifty,  years  ;  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction to  the  Pasha  of  Egypt,  two  Seidlitz  powders,  and  a 
pocket-compass,  which,  together  with  an  expired  commission 
as  third  lieutenant  in  the  r§\renue  service,  I  intended  de- 
livering to  the  chief  of  the  robbers  sooner  than  shed  one  drop 
of  blood,  and  requesting  him  as  a  favor  to  take  any  thing  else 
about  my  person  or  in  my  knapsack  that  he  might  find  use- 
ful. Fortunately,  however,  for  the  reader  and  myself,  we 
met  no  robbers,  or,  if  we  did,  they  were  so  terribly  afraid  of 
us  th'at  they  passed  on  without  shooting. 

We  soon  came  into  the  beautiful  and  fertile  neighborhood 
of  Zebdene.  Signs  of  civilization,  such  as  we  had  not  seen 
since  leaving  Beirut,  began  to  appear  on  both  sides  of  the 
road.  Every  thing  quite  reminded  us  of  home.  The  road 
was  broad  and  plain,  and  the  gardens  were  well  hedged  with 
bushes.  Rustic  gateways,  covered  with  running  roses,  peep- 
ed out  from  clumps  of  trees  ;  the  gurgling  of  springs  and  the 
soft  echo  of  distant  voices  made  a  pleasant  music  in  the  night 
air;  and  as  we  rode  along  under  the  shade  of  overhanging 
trees,  and  looked  through  the  vistas  of  foliage  on  each  side, 
the  running  vines  hanging  in  festoons  through  the  vineyards, 
and  the  groves  of  fig  trees  and  olives  were  lit  up  with  a  glow 
of  moonlight,  and  vividly  brought  to  mind  our  early  impres- 
sions of  the  beauties  of  Eden.  As  we  entered  the  village,  it 
was  a  pleasant  variety  to  find  none  of  that  shadowless  and 
parched  appearance  about  it  that  characterized  all  the  vil- 
lages we  had  seen  before.  The  houses  were  half  hidden 
among  trees,  with  little  green  patches  of  ground  about  them, 
and  though  rudely  constructed  of  mud  and  stone,  like  all  we 

L* 


250  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST 

had  seen,  yet  they  were  evidently  larger  and  more  commo- 
dious. We  rode  on  some  distance  looking  around  us  for  Yusef, 
starting  up  sleepy  dogs,  and  exciting  the  wonder  of  the  natives 
in  our  search,  calling  Yusef,  Yusef!  as  we  went,  but  it  was 
not  until  we  had  reached  the  farthest  extremity  of  the  village 
that  Yusef  made  his  appearance.  Alas,  I  grieve  to  tell  it ! 
his  face  was  very  red,  and  he  staggered  a  good  deal,  and  la- 
bored under  some  difficulty  in  getting  out  his  words ;  in  short, 
it  was  quite  plain  he  had  been  drinking  arrack — a  thing  that 
he  did  a  little  too  often  for  our  satisfaction.  "  Come  dis  way 
genelmen,"  said  he,  "  I'm  got  you  a  veiy  good  house.  My 
niece  live  here — she  gone  down  to  Damascus  now,  but  her 
husband  very  good  man."  Jfere  was  another  of  Yusef's 
nieces ;  I  was  riot  sorry  to  hear  that  she  was  gone  to  Damas- 
cus ;  for  somehow  Yusef  always  wanted  to  delay  us  when  his 
nieces  were  at  home.  The  house  was  very  nice  and  com- 
fortable— one  of  the  best  we  had  seen  in  our  travels ;  it  was 
situated  in  an  inclosure,  fenced  in  by  high  hedges,  with  a  rus- 
tic gateway  in  front  covered  with  rose  bushes,  and  had  alto- 
gether a  rural  and  picturesque  effect  in  the  moonlight.  The 
Arabs  sitting  about  the  door  smoking  their  chiboucks,  and  the 
mules  standing  under  the  bushes  with  their  packs,  while  the 
muleteers  ran  about  shouting  at  a  great  rate  and  doing  a 
great  deal  of  work  that  amounted  to  nothing,  were  all  that 
reminded  us  that  we  were  in  a  foreign  land.  Without  them 
we  might  readily  have  fancied  that  we  were  in  a  quiet  little 
country  village  at  home. 

The  husband  of  Yusef's  niece  received  us  with  great  kind- 
ness and  hospitality.  A  good  fire  was  blazing  in  the  corner, 
near  which  he  spread  mats  for  us,  and  while  we  were  enjoy- 
ing the  cheeful  glow  of  the  fire,  he  brought  us  coffee  and 
pipes.  Here  let  me  tell  you  that  you  who  take  your  ease  at 
home,  don't  know  the  luxury  of  coffee  and  tobacco.  Syria  in 
the  month  of  December  is  the  place  to  find  it  out.  You  get 
up  in  the  morning,  after  suffering  all  the  tortures  that  vermin 
can  inflict  during  the  night,  eat  a  hasty  breakfast,  and  are 
off"  before  sunrise.  For  six  hours  you  climb  scraggy  mount- 
ains and  descend  horrible  precipices,  and  then  sit  down  on  a 


FROM  BAALBEK  TO  DAMASCUS.  251 

rock  by  the  roadside  or  near  some  ruined  Khan,  to  eat  a 
chicken  and  some  leather  bread ;  then  the  same  riding  is  re- 
peated till  night,  when  you  feel  as  if  a  piece  of  horse  or  a 
well-cooked  dog  would  be  a  positive  luxury.  While  you  are 
warming  yourself  by  the  cheerful  blaze  of  the  fire,  hot  coffee 
appears  as  if  by  magic — the  very  thing  to  brace  up  the  sys- 
tem for  dinner,  which  comes  in  about  an  hour.  Now,  blessed 
be  the  man  that  invented  coffee  !  It  goes  down  with  such  a 
relish  after  all  the  troubles  of  the  day ;  warming  the  throat, 
sending  a  thrill  of  delight  into  the  stomach,  filling  body  and 
soul  with  joy,  and  inspiring  a  proper  appreciation  of  the  chi- 
bouck  and  Djebel  tobacco.  All  these  delights  we  enjoyed  at 
Zebdene,  and  very  grateful  and  happy  we  felt  that  night,  in 
spite  of  the  prejudices  of  the  untraveled  against  the  use  of 
stimulants.  I  shall  long  look  back  upon  Zebdene  as  a  bright 
spot  in  our  pilgrimage  through  Syria.  In  the  month  of  May 
it  must  be  one  of  the  most  charming  places  imaginable. 

Having  a  spare  hour  next  morning,  while  the  mules  were 
being  loaded,  we  walked  out  to  see  the  village  by  daylight, 
and  were  quite  enchanted  with  the  fresh  and  verdant  hedges 
of  wild  rose,  the  rustic  gateways  (which  seemed  to  be  the 
ruling  passion  of  the  Zebdenes),  the  pomp  of  groves,  the 
garniture  of  fields,  and  "  all  that  the  genial  ray  of  morning 
gilds."  On  our  return  to  the  house  the  horses  and  rnules 
were  ready,  and  we  rode  off  merrily  toward  Damascus. 
Clouds  began  to  gather  upon  the  mountains,  as  we  passed 
out  of  the  shaded  avenues  of  the  village  into  the  open  plain, 
and  it  was  not  long  before  a  heavy  rain  swept  down  upon  us, 
accompanied  by  a  strong  cold  wind  that  was  very  piercing. 
Three  hours  from  Zebdene  we  came  to  the  river  Berada,  an- 
other small  stream,  running  between  high  and  precipitous 
rocks  of  very  marked  geological  character.  Parts  of  the 
mountain  sides  were  distorted  as  if  by  violent  convulsions  of 
nature,  and  we  observed  in  the  rocks  distinct  marks  of  trees 
and  impressions  of  leaves.  Our  guide  pointed  out  to  us  the 
place  where  the  river  formerly  gushed  through  the  mountain 
on  the  left,  after  we  had  passed  a  bridge  ;  and  on  the  right, 
on  a  high  peak,  the  tomb  of  Abel.  We  had  no  data  to  au- 


252  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

thenticate  the  burial  of  Abel  on  the  mountain,  but  it  was  the 
current  opinion  among  the  Greek  Christians  that  this  was 
his  tomb.  On  the  left,  beyond  the  bridge,  we  saw  a  number 
of  holes  cut  in  the  rocks  like  doorways,  in  which  the  Jews  in 
old  times  buried  their  dead.  They  are  called  the  tombs  of 
the  Jews.  Farther  on  we  came  to  the  village  of  Suharadan 
— a  dirty  gathering  of  dilapidated  hovels  ;  and  soon  after,  the 
village  of  El  Sanean,  situated  on  the  slope  of  a  hill.  The 
valley  on  the  left  is  well  watered,  and  is  fertile  and  beauti- 
fully wooded  on  the  banks  of  the  rivulet,  having  a  fresh  and 
verdant  appearance,  that  contrasts  pleasantly  with  the  barren 
mountains  on  each  side.  El  Sanean  is  made  memorable  to 
us  by  certain  curious  tombstones  that  we  saw  there,  and  by 
the  vilest  abuse  that  ever  unoffending  pilgrims  received.  Au 
old  woman,  literally  a  living  skeleton,  covered  with  leather, 
followed  us  up  all  the  way  from  the  spring  in  the  hollow, 
shaking  her  clenched  hands  at  us,  and  shrieking  at  the  top 
of  her  voice,  "  Dogs  that  you  are — get  away  from  here.  Be- 
gone, filth  of  the  earth  !"  Seeing  that  we  merely  laughed  at 
this  (partly  for  the  reason  that  it  was  all  in  an  unknown 
tongue,  and  partly  because  when  translated  it  sounded  so  lu- 
dicrous to  hear  this  skinny  old  hag  denounce  us  as  barbarians 
and  dogs,  without  the  slightest  provocation,  so  much  like  what 
we  were  in  the  habit  of  doing  toward  the  Arabs  ourselves, 
and  so  palpable  a  hit  at  travelers  in  general),  the  old  wretch 
actually  danced  with  rage,  flinging  about  her  arms  and  work- 
ing her  jaws  like  some  galvanized  mummy.  Our  diagoman 
was  so  overcome  with  laughter  that  it  was  some  time  before 
he  could  give  us  the  gist  of  her  remarks.  "  Oh,  yes !"  she 
shrieked,  "  you  may  laugh,  you  dogs — you  don't  know  any 
better.  You  are  nothing  but  dirt,  scarce  fit  to  be  spit  upon  ! 
Begone  from  here,  you  grinning  dogs,  before  I  defile  my  hands 
by  scratching  your  eyes  out !  What  do  you  come  poking 
about  here  for  ?  Why  don't  you  stay  at  home,  where  you 
are  all  dogs  together  ?  You  want  some  bread,  eh  ?  Ha  ! 
ha  !  that's  good  ?"  And  here  the  ferocious  old  hag  laughed 
so  horribly  with  her  toothless  jaws  that  we  fain  rode  off  to 
escape  further  abuse. 


FROM  BAALBEK  TO  DAMASCUS.          .         253 

In  an  hour  we  came  to  the  stream  of  Zeita,  where  we 
stopped  to  lunch.  From  this  point  on  to  the  village  of  Dum- 
mar  is  a  winding  valley,  highly  fertile  and  picturesque,  the 
road  running  along  a  ledge  at  the  hase  of  the  mountain  on 
the  right,  the  river  on  the  left,  its  hanks  covered  with  trees, 
and  numerous  springs  gushing  from  the  rocks  and  running 
over  the  road,  making  one  of  the  most  refreshing  combinations 
of  agreeahle  sights  we  had  yet  seen.  At  length  we  entered 
the  village  of  Dum-mar,  the  most  beautiful  spot  on  the  whole 
road  from  Baalbek  to  Damascus,  not  excepting  our  favorite 
Zebdene.  We  saw  little  of  the  houses,  for  they  are  nearly 
covered  up  with  trees  and  running  vines ;  but  the  gardens, 
wild  and  uncultivated  as  they  are,  teemed  with  richness  of 
vegetation ;  and  the  ruinous  old  walls  by  the  roadside  were 
overrun  with  luxuriant  vines  and  wild  flowers.  As  we  passed 
out  of  the  village  near  the  bridge  we  saw  a  large  gathering 
of  the  native  Arabs,  lounging  and  smoking  their  chiboucks 
under  an  immense  wide-spreaking  tree  in  front  of  a  Khan, 
with  groups  of  camels  laden  with  merchandise  from  Damas- 
cus feeding  in  the  shade,  and  at  a  short  distance  from  the 
crowd  an  Arab  story-teller,  shouting,  at  the  top  of  his  voice, 
the  famous  history  of  Hassan,  the  Robber  of  Camels.  The 
bridge  crosses  the  River  of  Dum-mar,  a  considerable  stream, 
watering  a  fertile  tract  of  country  above.  Leaving  the  village 
we  had  a  pretty  hard  ride  up  to  the  top  of  the  mountain 
called  Jebel-el-Nazir.  It  was  here  we  had  the  first  view  of 
the  magnificent  plains  of  Haroun — a  sight  that  can  never  be 
forgotten  ;  one  that  is  truly  a  joy  forever. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

4 
DAMASCUS.  ' 

IN  the  midst  of  an  extensive  wooded  valley  lay  the  beauti- 
ful city  of  Damascus  called  by  the  Emperor  Julian  the  true 
city  of  Jupiter,  the  eye  of  the  whole  East.  What  can  I  say 
of  the  first  view  of  Damascus,  the  bright  glowing  paradise 
of  the  Orient,  the  famous  city  of  the  Caliphate,  that  from 
early  youth  had  haunted  us  in  our  brightest  dreams  of  East- 
ern travel !  There  it  lay  before  us  at  last,  outspread  at  the 
base  of  Jebel-el-Nazir,  upon  the  broad  plain  embosomed  in 
groves  of  olives  and  cypress  ;  with  its  mosques  and  minarets 
and  castles,  its  white  domes  and  giant  old  gateways,  rising 
from  the  mass  of  foliage,  and  glittering  in  the  sunbeams  like 
a  fairy  city  of  snow  in  a  summer  garden.  It  was  enough  to 
inspire  even  a  practical  man  like  myself,  whose  mission  in 
the  East  is  to  rake  up  stern  facts  and  expose  all  visionary 
fancies — enough,  I  say,  to  strike  poetry  into  the  unpoetical — 
even  into  a  determined  foe  to  romance.  On  this  very  spot,  cr 
close  by,  it  is  said  that  a  famous  Sheik,  whose  tomb  we  saw 
as  we  passed  down,  exclaimed  on  beholding  Damascus :  "  I 
will  proceed  no  further  ;  I  will  die  here,  for  if  I  go  on  I  shall 
be  unable  to  enjoy  Paradise."  And  sure  enough  he  died,  for 
there  stands  his  tomb.  Like  the  first  sight  of  Constantinople, 
it  is  gorgeously  Oriental ;  different  indeed  in  position,  but 
scarcely  less  beautiful.  Surrounded  by  luxuriant  groves,  and 
embosomed  in  gardens,  its  white  spires  and  domes  stand  out 
with  wonderful  distinctness  and  sumptuous  profusion  from 
amid  the  waving  mass  of  green ;  and  afar  on  every  side  from 
the  base  of  Jebel-el-Nazir  stretches  the  splendid  valley  of 
the  Seven  Rivers,  variegated  with  green  fields  and  woods  and 


DAMASCUS.  255 

villages ;  while  on  the  one  hand  gleam  the  bright  waters 
of  the  River  Burada  and  the  Bahr-el-Merj,  or  Lake  of  the 
Meadow ;  and  on  the  other  the  snow-capt  summit  of  Jebel- 
esh-Sheik,  the  ancient  Hermon ;  and  dim  ranges  of  mount- 
ains loom  up  from  the  plains  of  Hauran,  and  a  purple  glow 
from  the  setting  sun  hangs  softly  over  the  vast  amphitheatre 
of  mountain  and  valley,  giving  more  than  earthly  beauty  to  a 
scene  that  seemed  the  baseless  fabric  of  a  vision.  Such  is 
the  approach  to  Damascus,  "  the  right  hand  of  the  cities  of 
Syria." 

Here,  before  we  pass  beyond  the  Mausoleum  of  Abut-el 
Nazir,  the  guide  of  the  Prophet,  let  us  take  a  long,  lingering 
look  over  the  plain,  and  drink  deep  into  our  souls  draughts  of 
heavenly  beauty  ;  for  within  the  walls  of  Damascus,  as  with- 
in the  city  of  the  Sultan,  all  is  "  of  earth,  earthy." 

Descending  by  a  narrow  pass  to  the  left  of  the  Mausoleum 
of  Abut-el-Nazir,  we  rode  for  about  a  mile  along  the  base  of 
the  mountains,  and  then  turned  to  the  right  into  the  groves 
of  Damascus.     Here  reality  at  once  gave  a  check  to  our  en- 
thusiasm.    All  travellers  bound  to  Damascus,  in  search  of 
the  beautiful,  should  take  a  good  look  at  it  from  the  summit 
of  Jebel-el-Nazir,  and  die  as  soon  as  possible,  like  the  Sheik, 
but  not  go  a  step  farther.     There  is  certainly  nothing  to  die 
for  within  the  walls  of  Damascus,  though  a  good  deal  to  pro- 
duce death,  in   the   way  of  filth  and  diseaso.     Instead  of 
handsome  villas,  surrounded  by  flower  gardens  and  adorned 
with  works  of  art,  as  we  were  led  to  expect  from  the  view 
above,  we  saw  nothing  but  high  mud  walls,  broken  and  di- 
lapidated gateways,  and  trees  covered  with  dust ;  with  a  few 
breaches  in  the  walls  by  the  way-side,  exposing  some  wretch- 
ed huts  within  the  inclosurc,  as  dirty  as  mud  and  dust  could 
make  them.     There  was  not  the  least  attempt  at  ornament 
or  comfort  visible  any  where  ;  scarce  sufficient  cultivation  to 
sustain  life;  lazy  dogs  and  lazier  Arabs  lay  basking  in  the 
sun  by  the  roadside,  sharing  mutually  the  luxuries  of  dust 
and  flies;  and  the  whole  aspect  of  the  neighborhood,  as  we 
approached  Damascus,  was  neglected  and  barbarous  in  the 
extreme.     The  narrow  and  mud-walled  roads  crossed  each 


256  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

other  in  all  directions ;  dust  covering  them  to  the  depth  oi 
six  inches ;  and  the  air  was  so  filled  with  it  that  we  were 
well  nigh  stifled  before  we  entered  upon  the  principal  paved 
road  leading  into  the  city.  At  the  gate  called  by  the  Franks 
the  Porta  di  Baalbek,'  we  were  stopped  by  some  Turkish 
guards,  who  entered  into  a  social  conversation  with  our  drago- 
man concerning  our  business  in  Damascus,  past  history,  and 
future  prospects,  all  of  which  seemed  to  afford  them  the  highest 
satisfaction,  as  they  resumed  their  chiboucks,  upon  being  paid 
the  sum  of  two  half-piasters,  or  four  cents  and  a  quarter,  with 
an  evident  determination  to  remain  satisfied  with  the  informa- 
tion they  had  received  (and  the  half-piasters)  all  the  rest  of 
their  lives,  and  never  to  stop  smoking  again  on  any  account. 
If  our  disappointment  was  great  upon  entering  the  groves 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Damascus,  it  was  greater  still  upon 
entering  the 'city.  The  streets  are  not  more  than  eight  or 
ten  feet  in  width,  badly  paved  in  parts  and  not  paved  at  all 
generally  ;  dirty  beyond  description,  and  abounding  in  foul 
odors  and  disgusting  sights  of  lepers  and  beggars.  Overhead 
throughout  most  of  the  city  were  hung  ragged  mats  for  the 
purpose,  I  believe,  of  keeping  out  the  air  in  summer,  and 
making  the  streets  wet  and  gloomy  in  winter.  It  was  as 
much  as  our  lives  were  worth  to  ride  through  these  streets  over 
the  slippery  stories ;  spraining  our  horses'  legs,  and  getting 
jammed  on  eUch  side  of  the  street  every  dozen  steps,  some- 
times carrying  away  the  shutters  of  a  shop  or  a  basket  of 
fruit,  and  now  and  then  compelled  to  jerk  up  the  off  leg  arid 
hug  the  wall  to  avoid  being  crushed  by  a  drove  of  camels. 
The  loads  of  these  animals  seemed  expressly  designed  to  rake 
both  sides  of  the  streets ;  and  where  there  was  not  room  for 
them,  mules  and  donkeys  supplied  their  place.  We  had 
often  heard  of  the  hostility  of  the  inhabitants  of  Damascus  to 
Christians ;  their  hatred  of  all  sects  except  their  own,  their 
intolerance  toward  foreigners,  and  their  bigoted  attachment 
to  Islamism  ;  but  we  had  been  told  that  of  late  years  they  had 
greatly  improved  in  consequence  of  increased  intercourse  with 
the  Frank  nations  of  Europe.  Ibrahim  Pasha  taught  them  a 
(food  many  lessons,  without  doing  their  religion  or  morals 


DAMASCUS.  257 

much  good.  The  British  Government,  in  1841,  gava  them 
some  notion  of  the  importance  of  good  behavior,  which  seem- 
ed to  make  some  impression  upon  them.  They  still  vent 
their  hatred,  however,  upon  foreigners,  as  we  found  from  oui 
experience,  whenever  they  can  do  so  without  incurring  risk. 
In  passing  through  some  of  the  more  obscure  streets  we  had 
stones  thrown  at  us  by  the  boys,  and  were  repeatedly  spit  at 
by  the  children,  and  insulted  by  derisive  shouts  of  Frangi ! 
Frangi !  The  men  stood  by  laughing,  evidently  quite  pleased 
with  the  conduct  of  the  rising  generation,  though  it  is  due  to 
them  to  say  that  they  were  too  lazy  or  too  cowardly  to  take 
any  part  in  these  annoyances  themselves.  After  passing 
through  several  of  the  quarters  in  which  the  different  sects 
reside,  we  arrived  at  a  wall  with  a  door  in  it,  upon  entering 
which  we  found  ourselves  in  the  Court  of  the  Hotel  de  Pal- 
myre,  the  only  tolerable  place  for  Frank  travelers  in  the  city. 
From  the  streets  the  houses  have  the  appearance  of  mud 
forts,  most  of  them  being  bare  mud  walls  with  holes  in 
them,  presenting  a  most  forbidding  and  gloomy  aspect  to  the 
stranger,  who  is  not  aware  of  the  pleasant  surprise  that  is  in 
store  for  him  when  he  passes  the  obscure  little  doorway. 
We  were  quite  charmed  upon  entering  the  Court  of  the  Hold 
de  Pcdmyre.  In  truth,  it  seemed  as  if  we  had  made  a  mis- 
take and  stumbled  into  the  palace  of  some  Pasha.  It  was 
a  very  ordinary  house,  as  we  afterward  found,  but  appeared 
really  magnificent,  after  what  we  had  been  accustomed  to. 
There  were  orange  trees,  laden  with  tempting  fruit ;  a  large 
reservoir  full  of  water,  with  a  fountain  in  the  centre  ;  a 
paved  court  and  various  archways,  leading  into  the  different 
apartments,  all  on  the  ground  floor ;  and  then  there  were  Arab 
and  Greek  servants,  who  were  lounging  about ;  and  the  host, 
with  a  flaming  red  fez  in  his  hand,  received  us  as  visitors  of 
high  distinction — all  very  gratifying  things  to  way-worn  travel- 
ers, who  had  been  for  eight  days  wandering  about  over  the 
mountains  of  Lebanon.  The  air  was  fragrant  with  the  scent 
of  oranges  and  rose  water — we  suspected  the  host  of  hav- 
nig  sprinkled  the  pavement  or  himself  with  attar  of  roses 
when  he  heard  we  were  coming — fountains  were  bubbling 


258  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

away  in  the  rooms  and  out  of  the  rooms ;  in  short,  without 
going  into  particulars,  the  whole  was  quite  Lalla  Rookhish — 
that  is  to  say,  like  all  things  Oriental,  the  first  sight  was  full 
of  enchantment.  It  was  so  strange  and  showy,  every  thing 
so  fashioned  out  to  captivate  the  senses  ;  the  rooms  extending 
clear  up  to  the  top  of  the  house,  with  domes  above  ;  the  walls 
cornered  and  curved  into  all  sorts  of  shapes,  and  painted  with 
brilliant  colors,  in  stripes  and  grotesque  devices ;  marble 
floors,  alcoves  for  the  beds,  running  gauze  curtains  drawn 
across,  to  keep  off  the  spray  of  the  fountains;  divans  to  lounge 
and  smoke  upon,  with  a  pleasant  mingling  of  the  useful  in  the 
way  of  narguillas  and  chiboucks.  Oh,  you  have  no  idea  how 
luxurious  it  was  !  Such  was  the  e fleet-  of  these  glowing  feat- 
ures of  Eastern  life  upon  my  nervous  system,  aided  by  two 
cups  of  excellent  black  tea  from  a  box  presented  to  the  host, 
as  he  solemnly  declared,  by  Mi-lord  Bath,  that  I  lost  all  sense 
of"  the  dignity  of  Oriental  travel  in  the  enthusiasm  of  the  occa- 
sion, and  gave  vent  to  my  joy  in  such  extraordinary  flourishes 
on  the  flute  as  to  arouse  every  smoking  Arab  and  son  of  an 
Arab  about  the  establishment.  They  pronounced  it,  as  I 
solemnly  aver  on  the  responsibility  of  our  dragoman,  the 
most  tahib  music  that  ever  was  heard  within  the  walls  of 
Damascus,  not  excepting  the  famous  dead  march  of  the 
Turkish  band,  consisting  of  three  notes,  with  variations. 
That  beautiful  air,  called  Ezepa  Kouna  by  the  Arabs,  and  so 
much  admired  by  them  wheneyer  I  played  it,  rolled  magnifi- 
cently round  the  dome  of  our  chamber,  and  reverberated  with 
ten-fold  effect  throughout  the  court,  to  the  great  astonish- 
ment of  two  English  gentlemen  who  had  just  returned  from 
Palmyra,  and  who  had  probably  never  heard  it  before,  or 
only  knew  it  by  the  vulgar  name  of  Zip  Coon.  My  friends — 
the  Captain  and  Southerner — were  quite  charmed,  but  none 
so  delighted  as  I  was  myself.  We  all  declared  it  was  a 
glorious  life,  this  riding,  and  smoking,  and  fluting  our  way 
through  the  land  of  turbans,  and  went  to  bed  as  jolly  as  pos- 
sible, to  dream  our  first  dream  in  Damascus. 

What  we  dreamt  it  would  be  impossible  to  say  with  any 
degree  of  accuracy.     If  I  remember  right,  the  English  cap 


DAMASCUS  259 

lain  was  troubled  about  getting  in  all  his  coal  by  2  p.  M.,  at 
wbich  hour  the  steamer  was  to  sail ;  the  Southerner  slept 
soundly  in  a  cane-brake  ;  and  it  fell  to  my  lot  to  dream  that 
the  grand  Caliph  of  Damascus  had  ordered  me  to  be  bastina- 
doed for  misrepresenting  him  in  the  report  of  a  speech  which 
he  had  just  delivered  in  the  United  States  Senate,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  free-soil.  At  all  events,  whatever  our  troubles  were 
(and  I  assure  you,  our  night-caps  had  nothing  to  do  with 
them),  we  all  woke  up  next  morning  in  a  very  serious  frame 
of  mind  ;  and,  upon  ascertaining  that  we  had  bad  colds,  and 
our  beards  were  dripping  wet,  and  our  heads  ached,  we  ar- 
rived at  the  following  conclusions  :  That,  however  charming 
a  fountain  may  be  in  a  bedroom  in  summer,  it  is  apt  to  be 
damp  in  the  month  of  December ;  that  cold  marble  floors  are 
more  pleasant  in  August  than  in  mid- winter;  and  the  total 
absence  of  chimneys,  stoves,  and  all  means  of  warming  a. 
room,  except  a  miserable  pot  of  charcoal,  is  not  productive 
of  comfort,  however  pretty  and  Oriental  the  whole  thing  may 
be.  All  the  glitter  of  colors  on  the  walls  looked  very  tawdry 
this  morning ;  the  fountain  sent  a  cold  shudder  through  us ; 
the  Arab  domestics  looked  as  lazy  and  filthy  as  ever,  and  in 
spite  of  the  repeated  assurances  of  our  landlord,  that  "indeed 
Mi-lord  Bath  had  slept  in  this  very  chamber,"  we  changed 
our  quarters  for  another  room  less  showy  but  much  more  com- 
fortable. 

We  took  for  our  guide  through  the  city  a  methodical  old 
gentleman  called  Ibrahim.  In  his  book  of  recommendations 
he  is  represented  to  be  a  "  regular  old  Jew,"  "  as  honest  a 
man  as  any  body  could  expect,"  "  not  the  brightest  guide  in 
the  world,  but  the  best  in  Damascus,  and  one  who  knows  the 
way  through  the  city;"  and,  in  justice  to  him,  I  must  say 
that  he  deserved  these  testimonials,  and  that  his  knowledge 
of  the  languages  is  equal  to  his  knowledge  of  the  antiquities 
of  Damascus. 

The  old  gentleman  (for  he  claimed  to  be  a  Reis)  was  very 
slow  and  dignified  in  his  movements,  and  wore  a  long  beard 
and  large  turban,  that  gave  him  a  most  imposing  aspect ;  we 
called  him  Ibrahim  the  Solemn.  He  showed  us  the  bazaars, 


260 


A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 


ANCIENT   ARCH    IN    DAMASCUS. 


and  told  us,  with  great  solemnity,  that  they  were  bazaars ; 
the  mosques,  too,  he  pointed  out,  and  informed  us  that  they 
were  mosques ;  some  old  walls,  likewise,  he  showed  us,  and 
said  they  were  walls  ;  after  which,  satisfied  that  he  had  im- 
parted to  us  much  valuable  information,  he  took  us  to  a  native 
smoking-house,  and  with  our  permission,  called  for  coffee  and 
narguillas  for  the  whole  party,  which  he  paid  for  out  of  his 
own  purse,  charging  us  afterward  only  double  the  amount; 
according  to  a  custom  prevalent  among  guides  all  over  the 
world. 

I  was  greatly  struck  with  the  majestic  and  dignified  ap- 
pearance of  old  Ibrahim ;  and  thought  he  would  look  very 
much  like  a  distinguished  person,  on  paper.  Indeed,  I  secretly 
entertained  the  belief  that  he  was  really  some  extraordinary 
man,  in  reduced  circumstances ;  probably  one  of  the  learned 
Rabbi  that  I  had  read  about  in  books  on  the  East.  My  chief 
ground  for  the  latter  opinion  was,  that  he  seemed  always  to 
be  wrapt  in  a  profound  study  ;  and  had  a  great  antipathy  to 
any  thing  like  learning  in  others.  Nothing  so  excited  his  con- 
tempt (if  I  might  judge  by  the  gravity  of  his  countenance,  for 


DAMASCUS. 


261 


he  never  manifested  his  excitement  in  any  other  way)  as  any 
allusion  to  the  history  of  Damascus.  In  a  happy  moment  of 
inspiration,  I  got  an  exact  fac-simile  of  his  features,  which  wili'' 
enable  the  reader  to  see  precisely  how  he  looked  upon  being 
asked  by  one  of  the  party,  if  he  remembered  at  what  date  St. 
Paul  preached  from  the  house-top.  On  the  subject  of  Roman 
antiquities  he  was  especially  reserved.  It  was  evident  that 
he  had  an  antipathy  to  the  Romans,  and  would  in  no  degree 
contribute  to  the  perpetuation  of  their  fame.  That  he  will 
come  out  one  of  these  days  in  a  book  against  that  people  for 
building  useless  walls  and  arches  in  Damascus,  and  thereby 
setting  idle  tourists  all  agog,  about  ruins  that  don't  exist  as 
well  as  those  that  do  exist,  I  have  no  doubt  whatever.  I 
observed  it  in  the  expressjon  of  his  countenance  on  several 
occasions  when  I  solicited  his  opinion  about  Herod  the  Great. 
Actuated  by  the  purest  motives — chiefly  by  the  desire  to  dis- 
sipate the  mists  of  fancy,  as  you  know  has  been  my  object  all 
along — I  took  the  liberty  of  asking  Ibrahim  if  the  ladies  of 
Damascus  were  pretty ;  to  which  he  replied  by  throwing  up 
both  hands  in  horror,  and  saying,  "  God  forbid  that  I  should 
know.  People  say  they  are,  but  I  don't  know ;  never  KI  v. 


262  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

them  in  my  life."  Now,  I  gave  Ibrahim  credit  for  sincerity 
in  a  good  many  things ;  for  instance,  being  in  earnest  when 
he  smoked  the  narguilla,  hating  the  Mohammedans  with  a 
bitter  hatred,  loving  the  Armenians  with  a  Jewish  love,  and 
in  believing  that  there  was  not  a  more  honest  man  than  him- 
self in  the  city  of  Damascus  ;  but  it  must  be  admitted,  that  I 
had  room  for  doubt  on  the  point  above  stated.  Strange  sto- 
ries are  tald  about  some  of  the  English  nobility  who  have  vis- 
ited Damascus  of  late  ;  and  nobody  knows  more  about  them 
than  our  old  friend,  "  except,"  as  our  mahre  d'hbtel  was  in 
the  habit  of  saying  on  all  occasions,  "  Mi-lord  Bath."  Here 
is  the  last,  translated  from  the  original  Arabic  : 

There  was  once  in  the  East  an  elegant  beast,  and  Beck- 
ford  was  his  name  ;  a  harem  he  took,  and  then  wrote  a  book, 
which  won  him  some  little  fame ;  Corruption  was  tired,  till 
an  earl  it  inspired  to  follow  in  his  path  ;  when  soon  to  shame 
it  put  his  name,  then  washed  it  in  a  Bath. — Moral :  Because  a 
nobleman  is  in  Damascus,  he  needn't  be  a  Damascus  Blade. 

The  following  lines,  from  a  book  published  in  India,  enti- 
tled, the  "  Shurboo  Muit  Amil,"  may  be  taken  as  another 
specimen  of  Oriental  wit.  The  translation  is  from  the  mod- 
ern Arabic : 

ON  A  LITTLE  MAN  NAMED  DAVID,  WITH  A  VERY  LONG  BEARD. 
How  can  thy  chin  that  burden  bear  ? 

Is  it  all  gravity  to  shock  ? 
Is  it  to  make  the  people  stare, 

And  be  thyself  a  laughing-stock  ? 

When  I  behold  thy  little  feet, 

After  thy  beard  obsequious  run, 
I  always  fancy  that  I  meet 

Some  father  followed  by  his  son. 

A  man  like  thee  scarce  e'er  appeared; 

A  beard  like  thine,  where  shall  we  find  it  1 
Surely,  thou  cherishest  thy  beard, 

In  hopes  to  hide  thyself  behind  it. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

BATHS    OF    DAMASCUS. 

WE  arrived  at  the  Hotel  de  Palmyre,  as  already  stated, 
after  eight  days'  wandering  over  the  mountains  of  Lebanon, 
arid  among  the  ruins  of  Baalbek,  covered  with  the  dust  of 
travel  and  the  filth  and  vermin  of  Turkish  khans.  The  first 
consideration  next  morning  was  a  Damascus  bath.  My  En- 
glish friend  had  been  in  Syria  before,  and  knew  all  about  the; 
native  baths.  He  said  they  were  "  stunning,"  a  word  signi- 
fying every  thing  wonderful,  in  an  Englishman's  mouth. 
"  Stunning"  baths  are  supposed  to  be  baths  that  knock  into 
a  cocked  hat  all  a  man's  preconceived  ideas  of  the  luxuries  of 
bathing,  and  it  is  an  expressive  word,  as  I  soon  discovered. 
The  tall  Southerner  preferred  enjoying  his  nap,  so  we  left  him 
in  his  glory.  An  Arab  youth  accompanied  us  from  the  hotel, 
with  special  injunctions  from  the  padrone  to  show  us  to  Ihe 
baths  patronized  by  his  late  master,  Lord  Bath.  I  don't  know 
how  often  his  lordship  went  there,  but  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
he  went  often  enough  to  be  cleansed  of  the  impurities  of  rather 
a  prolonged  sojourn  in  Damascus.  We  followed  our  guide 
through  a  confusing  maze  of  narrow  and  dirty  streets,  till  he 
disappeared  in  a  most  forbidding  doorway;  and  it  was  not 
until  he  re-appeared  and  had  repeatedly  urged  us  to  enter, 
that  we  could  consent  to  patronize  such  an  unpromising  place. 
He  assured  us,  however,  that  we  would  find  the  baths  tahib, 
vnicha  tahib — very  good ;  a  great  deal  better,  we  hoped,  than 
they  looked  from  the  outside.  Passing  through  an  open  court- 
yard, in  which  were  countless  Arabs,  half-naked,  up  to  their 
elbows  in  dirty  clothes  and  soap-suds,  we  entered  a  large  cir- 
cular hall,  the  public  dressing  and  undressing  saloon,  where 


264  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

payments  were  made,  and  coffee  and  chiboucks  handed  round. 
A  fountain  of  cold  water  stood  in  the  middle,  into  which  dark 
unshirted  men  of  the  establishment  plunged  their  arms  and 
heads  to  cool  themselves,  and  out  of  which  they  now  and  then 
dipped  up  water  for  thirsty  customers.  Around  the  salooc 
was  an  elevated  platform,  upon  which  stood  a  circular  row 
of  low  bedsteads,  most  of  which  appeared  to  be  occupied.  It 
was  a  strange  sight  altogether ;  on  every  side  extraordinary 
apparitions  of  dusky  bearded  men  rising  up  out  of  the  sheets, 
wild-looking  Arabs  with  bald  heads  running  about  screaming 
horribly,  gray  and  grizzled  old  Turks  falling  on  their  faces 
toward  Mecca ;  a  mist  of  cold  steam  rising  from  the  sloppy 
marble  floor  ;  and  the  whole  space  overhead  filled  with 
dangling  clothes  hung  up  on  lines  to  dry  in  the  reeking  atmo- 
sphere. In  a  retired  part  of  the  room,  behind  a  huge  pile  of 
smoking  towels,  sat  the  master  of  the  establishment — a  ven- 
erable Arab,  with  a  beard  reaching  to  his  middle.  He  also 
was  smoking  calmly  amid  all  the  turmoil,  arid  only  stopped 
at  long  intervals  to  note  down  something  on  a  pile  of  paper 
which  he  held  on  his  lap.  I  believe  that  man  was  writing  a 
book — probably  a  learned  work  on  hydropathy,  showing  the 
absurdities  of  Preisnitz  and  his  followers  in  chilling  the  blood 
with  cold  water,  when  they  might  comfortably  boil  it  up  to 
the  proper  temperature  in  hot  water.  To  this  venerable  man 
of  letters  we  made  known  our  wants  as  best  we  could  in  a 
broken  mixture  of  Italian  and  French,  through  our  guide,  wbo 
understood  something  over  a  dozen  words  of  each,  stating  thst 
we  had  come  a  long  way,  and  hearing  in  Damascus  of  tlv: 
famous  repute  of  his  baths,  had  determined  to  try  them.  The 
old  man  raised  his  head,  looked  at  us  solemnly  for  some  time, 
as  if  he  suspected  that  we  might  be  tinctured  with  the  her- 
esies of  Preisnitz,  and  then  waved  his  hand  gravely  toward  a 
subordinate  functionary  who  stood  -near.  The  subordinate 
was  covered  up  high  over  the  head  in  a  pyramid  of  towels. 
"  Friend,"  said  we,  "  can't  you  show  us  into  a  private  dress- 
ing room?  We  Franks  don't  like  to  make  models  of  ourselves 
in  public."  "  Impossible,"  said  he  (through  our  guide,  of 
course),  "  every  body  undresses  here."  "  But  we  arc  Itwmdji 


BATHS  OF  DAMASCUS.  265 

of  rank,  and  mustn't  be  confounded  with  common  people ; 
besides,  we  are  willing  to  pay  double  for  a  private  room." 
"  Oh,  as  to  that,"  replied  the  man,  very  much  afiected  by  our 
allusion  to  backshish,  "  I  knew  you  were  mi-lords  ;  but  I  am 
very  sorry  indeed ;  this  is  the  custom  in  Damascus.  We 
never  have  private  rooms  here."  "And  do  you  expect  us," 
said  we  sternly,  "  to  strip  ourselves  before  all  those  naked 
wretches  ?"  "  Praised  be  Allah,"  retorted  the  man,  "  we 
bathe  none  here  but  Reis  and  Pashas !  Don't  you  see  his  high- 
ness there  ?"  pointing  to  the  apparition  of  a  living  skeleton, 
very  dirty,  sitting  up  in  a  pile  of  sheets,  "that's  a  Pasha;  and 
his  excellency  on  the  left,"  directing  our  attention  to  a  greasy, 
bald-headed  old  Turk,  who  was  amusing  himself  picking  the 
fleas  off  his  shirt,  "  that's  one  of  the  chief  officers  of  the  gov- 
ernment ;  and  there,  and  there — all  Pashas  and  men  of  dis- 
tinction. "  Enough,"  said  we  ;  "  strip  us  and  boil  us.  Bo 
quick  about  it,  and  see  that  we  are  well  scrubbed."  Mount- 
ing the  platform,  we  selected  two  beds,  and,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  the  chief  of  sheet-holders,  were  soon  reduced  to  bare 
legs  and  short  linens.  Further  than  that  we  stoutly  protested 
against  till  screened  from  either  a  real  or  supposed  gaze  of 
wonder  on  the  part  of  the  multitude  around  us,  who  appeared 
to  think  that  the  Frangi  might  develop  some  new  features  in 
human  anatomy.  At  last  we  made  a  compromise  by  denud- 
ing and  sheeting  ourselves.  This  done,  we  thrust  our  feet  into 
some  wooden  clogs,  to  keep  them  clear  of  the  floor,  and  were 
conducted  into  the  first  bath-room.  Here  was  a  blue  mist, 
through  which  all  that  we  could  discern  were  shaven  heads, 
naked  and  dusky  figures  looming  through  the  warm  soapy 
atmosphere,  with  a  grim  and  horrible  effect.  There  was  a  hot, 
heavy,  oppressive  smell,  that  quite  disheartened  one  of  us  at 
least  as  to  the  prospect.  I  instinctively  held  my  breath,  for 
fear  of  inhaling  some  plague,  leprosy,  or  other  loathsome  dis- 
ease peculiar  to  Oriental  cities.  "While  thinking  seriously  of 
darting  out,  paying  the  backshish,  and  considering  the  thing 
done,  a  gaunt  figure  emerged  from  the  fog,  and  seized  me  with 
the  grasp  of  a  vice.  He  was  the  most  frightful  looking  mon- 
ster I  ever  beheld — a  perfect  living  mummy ;  dark,  lean,  and 

M 


266  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

shriveled,  with  sharp-pointed  yellow  teeth,  and  only  one  eye, 
the  other  having  been  dug  out  with  some  rough  instrument ; 
but  that  single  eye  was  enough :  it  actually  seemed  to  glare 
with  triumph  at  the  idea  of  a  Christian  subject.  Another 
naked  wretch  seized  hold  of  my  friend  the  English  captain, 
and  we  were  both  dragged  rapidly  into  an  adjoining  apait- 
ment. 

I  sincerely  hope  that  the  impression  made  upon  my  mind 
on  entering  this  den  of  satanic  visions  will  never  be  effaced 
by  any  future  experience.  It  was  quite  sufficient  to  give  me 
a  general  idea  of  the  state  of  things  to  which  a  man  may 
be  reduced  by  an  evil  course  of  life.  In  truth,  it  was  worthy 
to  be  ranked  with  Martin's  illustrations  of  Milton.  At  one 
end  was  a  seething  caldron  of  hot  water,  in  the  shape  of  a 
dark  marble  vase,  from  which  arose  hot  clouds  of  steam  ;  the 
marble  floor  was  wet  and  soapy,  and  of  a  smarting  heat ;  the 
walls  were  reeking  with  a  warm  sweat ;  high  overhead  was 
a  concave  ceiling,  pierced  with  round  holes,  in  which  were 
colored  glasses,  and  through  this  the  light  poured  down  in 
streaks  of  every  hue  ;  a  mist  of  hot  vapor  hung  in  the  atmo- 
sphere, lit  up  by  flashes  of  colored  light,  and  gave  the  moving 
figures  an  appearance  of  wretches  roasting  in  flames  of  fire  and. 
brimstone  ;  and  all  around,  in  every  direction,  were  bare  bodies, 
and  limbs,  and  shaven  heads  glistening  through  the  obscurity, 
and  great  naked  monsters  torturing  them  with  dippers  full 
of  scalding  water  or  blinding  lather  from  huge  basins  of  suds  ; 
some  scraping  with  razors  a  bald  crown,  some  scalding  down 
a  leg  or  an  arm,  or  rubbing  off  the  skin  from  the  backbone 
of  a  prostrate  victim  ;  others  stretching  out  limbs  and  trying 
to  disjoint  them,  or  scrubbing  them  down  with  hard  brushes 
— all  working  with  a  fiendish  zest,  increased  to  a  malicious 
grin  of  triumph  when  a  groan  or  involuntary  yell  of  agony 
could  be  elicited.  "  Surely,"  said  I  to  the  captain,  "  they 
are  not  going  to  put  us  through  here  in  this  diabolical  crowd  ?" 
"  Oh,  this  is  nothing,"  said  he ;  "  there's  another  place  yet, 
if  I'm  not  mistaken.  We  can  go  into  that  if  you  like,  only 
it's  a  good  deal  hotter."  "  Hotter  !  Why,  good  heavens  ! 
there's  not  air  enough  here  for  a  musquito."  "  Nonsense ; 


BATHS  OF  DAMASCUS.  SS67 

you'll  riot  mind  it  directly ;  it's  quite  stunning,  I  assure  you, 
when  you  get  used  to  it."  Now,  I  had  a  painful  misgiving 
of  absolute  suffocation  in  the  act  of  getting  used  to  it,  but  it 
was  too  late  to  retreat.  At  some  magic  word  in  Arabic  from 
the  captain,  who  was  not  much  pleased  himself  with  the  as- 
semblage here,  we  were  seized  again  by  the  naked  monsters 
before  mentioned,  and  dragged  into  a  room  still  further  on, 
and  of  much  smaller  dimensions.  There  were  only  two  or 
three  victims  in  this  branch  of  the  establishment.  It  seemed 
to  be  the  finishing-up  place,  where  people  who  chose  to  go 
through  the  whole  operation  were  subjected  to  the  final  and 
most  exquisite  ordeals ;  but  we,  as  a  matter  of  favor,  were 
permitted  to  suit  ourselves  by  having  the  whole  thing  cori- 
centrated.  The  fact  is,  in  the  rooms  through  which  we  had 
passed  there  was  such  an  odor  of  impure  flesh  that  we  were 
both  a  little  haunted  by  visions  of  plague  and  leprosy.  Here, 
however,  we  were  past  all  odors ;  there  was  no  further  use 
for  the  organs  of  scent.  It  was  of  such  a  fiery  temperature 
that  for  a  few  minutes  it  was  a  sufficient  labor  to  struggle 
against  suffocation.  Soon  the  big  drops  of  sweat  rolled 
down  from  my  forehead  ;  I  was  covered  with  a  flow  of  steam 
and  sweat  that  quite  blinded  me.  The  captain  vanished 
in  a  white  mist,  leaving  a  parting  impression  on  my  mind  of 
a  man  gasping  for  life  in  a  sea  of  soap-suds.  I  saw  no  more 
of  him  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  Meantime  I  was  jerked  out 
of  my  winding  sheet  by  the  one-eyed  monster,  and  thrust 
down  into  a  sitting  posture,  close  by  the  vase  of  hot  water 
"  Hold,  for  God's  sake  !  What — "  It  was  too  late.  A  per- 
fect deluge  of  foaming  lather  came  pouring  down  over  my 
head  and  face,  running  into  my  eyes,  ears,  and  nostrils,  and 
stopping  up  my  mouth  beyond  all  hope  of  speech.  I  have 
an  indistinct  recollection  of  a  confusion  of  agonies  through 
which  I  went  for  the  next  five  minutes,  but  can  not  depict 
them  with  any  thing  like  the  force  of  reality. 

From  the  crown  of  my  head  to  the  soles  of  my  feet,  I  was 
enveloped  in  a  bank  of  hot  lather,  which  the  horrid  wretch 
who  had  me  down  was  rubbing  into  my  flesh  with  a  small 
rake,  or  some  other  instrument  of  torture.  At  last  he  reached 


BATHS  OF  DAMASCUS. 


BATHS  OF  DAMASCUS.  269 

my  eyes,  and  here  he  rubbed  so  effectually  that  the  pain  was 
too  exquisite  to  be  borne.  "  Water,  water  !"  I  loared,  in  the 
very  extremity  of  agony,  "  water,  you  villain !  quick,  or  I'm 
blind  for  life  !  "  Mooe,"  suggested  the  captain  from  his  bank 
of  suds  on  the  other  side,  "  call  for  mooe,  that's  the  Arabic  , 
he'll  understand  it  better  than  English!"  "Mooe!"  I 
screamed  in  the  madness  of  anguish  ;  "  Mooe  !  you  rascal !" 
There  was  a  guttural  sound  of  assent  from  outside  the  coating 
of  lather ;  it  was  impossible  to  see  an  inch  ;  but  I  heard  a 
dabbling  as  if  in  water,  and  thought  I  detected  something 
like  a  fiendish  inward  laugh.  Next  moment  my  brain  seemed 
to  be  scorched  with  a  hissing  flame  of  fire,  and  my  body  felt 
as  if  a  thousand  devils  were  tearing  strips  of  skin  off  it  with 
red  hot  pincers.  For  a  while  I  was  entirely  incapable  of  ut- 
terance. I  could  only  writhe  madly  under  the  grasp  of  the 
live  mummy,  who  held  me  down  with  one  hand,  while  ho 
continued  to  pour  the  scalding  flood  over  me  with  the  other, 
till  a  momentary  cessation  of  the  torture  enabled  me  to  call 
for  aid.  "  Captain  !  oh  heavens,  captain  !  he's  boiling  me  in 
earnest !"  "  Cold  water  !"  said  the  captain  in  Arabic  ;  "put 
some  cold  water  on  him  !"  There  was  a  pause  now,  while 
the  man  went  in  search  of  cold  water,  during  which  I  sat 
simmering  in  a  puddle  of  suds,  afraid  to  stir  lest  my  entire 
suit  of  skin  should  drop  off.  In  a  few  minutes  he  returned; 
and,  holding  the  bucket  over  my  head,  he  poured  down  a 
stream  of  fresh  water  that  sent  a  shock  into  my  very  core.  It 
was  a  relief,  however,  as  it  eventually  enabled  me  to  open 
my  eyes.  When  I  did  open  them,  the  first  object  in  view 
was  that  diabolical  wretch,  grinning  horribly,  and  squinting 
with  a  malicious  satisfaction  at  the  results  of  his  labors.  I 
was  red  all  over,  a  perfect  boiled  lobster  in  external  appear- 
ance. "  Tahib  ?"  said  he,  signifying,  Good,  is'nt  it  ?  "  Ta- 
hib,  hey?"  And  then  he  took  from  a  large  bowl  of  suds  a 
familiar-looking  instrument,  a  brush,  which  he  fastened  on 
his  hand,  and  seizing  hold  of  me  by  the  arm,  commenced 
rubbing  with  all  his  might.  To  be  carded  down  in  this 
manner  with  a  hard  brush,  the  wooden  part  of  which  now 
and  then  touched  up  some  acute  angle,  was  not  productive 


270  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

of  agreeable  sensations,  but  it  was  a  vast  improvement  on 
the  hot-water  process.  Such  exquisite  delight  did  the  villain- 
ous old  mummy  take  in  it,  that  he  strained  every  muscle  with 
zeal,  and  snorted  like  a  racer,  his  fiery  eye  glaring  on  me  with 
a  fiendish  expression,  and  his  long  pointed  teeth,  glistening 
through  the  steam,  as  if  nothing  would  have  afforded  him 
half  so  much  satisfaction  as  to  bite  me.  Stretching  me  on 
my  back,  he  scrubbed  away  from  head  to  foot,  raking  over 
the  collar  bones,  ribs,  and  shin  bones  in  a  paroxysm  of  enthu- 
siasm. This  done,  he  reversed  the  position,  and  raked  his 
way  back,  lingering  with  great  relish  on  every  spinal  eleva- 
tion, till  he  reached  the  back  of  my  head,  which  event  he 
signalized  by  bringing  the  end  of  the  brush  in  sudden  contact 
with  it.  He  then  pulled  me  up  into  a  sitting  posture  again  ; 
for  by  this  time  I  was  quite  loose,  and  felt  resigned  to  any 
thing,  and  drawing  the  brush  skillfully  over  the  beaten  track, 
gathered  up  several  rolls  of  fine  skin,  each  of  which  he  ex- 
hibited to  me,  with  a  grin  of  triumph,  as  a  token  of  uncom- 
mon skill.  "  Tahib,  Howadji?  Tahib?"  Good;  isn't 
your  excellency  cleverly  done,  eh  ? 

Having  arrived  at  this  stage  of  the  proceedings,  the  inde- 
fatigable monster  again  covered  me  up  in  a  sea  of  lather,  and 
while  I  was  writhing  in  renewed  agonies  from  streams  of  soap 
that  kept  running  into  my  eyes,  in  spite  of  every  effort  to  shut 
them  off]  he  dashed  a  large  dipper,  fall  of  hot  water,  over  me, 
fo1  lowing  it  by  others  in  rapid  succession,  till,  unable  to  endure 
the  dreadful  torturing,  I  sprang  to  my  feet,  seized  the  dipper, 
and  shouted,  "  backshish!"  at  the  top  of  my  voice.  The  word 
acted  like  magic.  I  never  have  known  it  to  be  applied  in 
vain  throughout  the  East.  It  opens  sacred  places,  corrupts 
sacred  characters,  gives  inspiration  to  the  lazy,  and  new  life 
to  the  desponding  ;  in  short,  it  accomplishes  wonders,  no  mat- 
ter how  miraculous.  From  that  moment  I  was  a  happy  man ; 
rubbed  down  with  a  lamb-like  gentleness,  smoothed  over  softly 
with  warm  sheets,  dried  up  from  head  to  feet ;  turbaned  like 
a  Pasha,  slipped  into  my  clogs,  and  supported  through  the 
various  chambers  into  the  grand  saloon,  where  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  greeting  my  friend  the  captain,  of  whom  1  had 


BATHS  OF  DAMASCUS.  271 

enjoyed  but  a  confused  notion  of  proximity  for  some  time  pre- 
viously. An  attendant  now  handed  us  chiboucks  and  coflee, 
wbich,  together  with  the  delightful  sense  of  cleanliness  and 
relief  from  all  further  suffering,  produced  a  glow  that  was 
quite  ecstatic.  Covered  up  to  our  necks  in  warm  sheets,  we 
lay  back,  supported  by  pillows,  sipped  our  coflee  and  smoked 
our  chiboucks  with  a  relish  to  which  all  the  past  pleasures  of 
life  seemed  absolutely  flat.  A  thorough  feeling  of  forgiveness, 
a  quiet  sense  of  happiness,  and  an  utter  indifference  to  the 
world  and  all  its  cares,  pervaded  the  entire  inner  man,  while 
the  outer  was  wrapt  in  that  state  of  physical  beatitude  which 
the  Koran  promises  to  the  devout  followers  of  the  Prophet  in 
the  seventh  heaven.  "  Stunning,  isn't  it  ?"  said  the  captain, 
calmly  puffing  his  chibouck. 

Being  Frangi,  of  course  we  back&hished  every  body,  and 
were  immoderately  cheated.  The  entire  expense,  however, 
did  not  exceed  thirty  cents,  including  coffee  and  pipes — little 
enough,  one  would  say,  for  such  an  ordeal.  As  for  the  effect 
upon  the  system  we  found  it  very  pleasant  and  salutary  ;  but 
I  have  no  doubt  the  old  gentleman  whom  we  left  writing  be- 
hind the  smoking  pile  of  sheets  will  do  full  justice  to  that 
branch  of  the  subject  in  his  work,  which,  it  is  to  be  hoped, 
will  be  translated  into  English.  There  is  only  one  objection 
to  the  boiling  process  ;  my  hair  has  been  falling  out  ever  since, 
and  I  am  apprehensive  of  total  baldness  before  any  young  lady 
will  be  moved  to  pity,  by  these  "  hair-breadth  "scapes,"  these 
"  dangers  by  flood  and  field."  The  baths  of  Damascus  are 
stunning ;  I  fully  agree  to  that ;  but  it  is  with  an  inward 
reservation,  a  fixed  intention  to  flog  that  old  mummy  out  of 
his  skin  the  very  first  time  I  meet  him  in  Washington. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

THE    MISSIONARIES    IN    SYRIA. 

I  HAD  the  pleasure  of  becoming  acquainted,  during  my 
sojourn  in  Damascus,  with  several  of  the  American  mission- 
aries ;  and  I  feel  that  it  would  be  ungrateful  to  omit  a  pass- 
ing tribute  to  their  kindness  of  heart,  unpretending  piety,  and 
noble  exertions  in  the  dissemination  of  Christianity  among  the 
Arabs.  Prejudiced,  in  some  degree,  against  the  missionaries 
as  a  class — partly  from  having  paid  but  little  attention  to  the 
subject,  and  partly  because  I  had  seen  some  very  bad  speci- 
mens in  other  countries,  yet  I  had  never  doubted  the  high 
and  praiseworthy  aim  of  the  system ;  and  it  was  a  source  of 
genuine  gratification  to  find  that  there  are  a  great  many 
more  sincere  people  in  the  world  than  I  had  supposed  in  my 
younger  days.  A  good  cause  often  suffers  from  the  unfitness 
or  insincerity  of  its  followers  ;  but  if  it  be  founded  upon  true 
and  righteous  principles,  it  must  triumph  in  the  end.  It  has 
been  well  remarked,  that  "if  men  who  are  set  apart  to  in- 
struct others,  instead  of  entertaining  them  with  what  neither 
teachers  nor  hearers  understand,  and  (what  is  worse),  stirring 
up  the  latter  to  dislike  and  hate  one  another  for  difference  in 
opinions,  would  preach  the  true  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  which 
is  '  peace  on  earth  and  good-will  to  men,'  and  also  enforce  this 
excellent  doctrine  by  their  own  examples,  and  all  other  vir- 
tues by  the  same  means,  we  should  undoubtedly  soon  experi- 
ence a  great  alteration  in  the  world."  Nothing  can  be  more 
injudicious  than  to  attempt  the  reformation  of  a  barbarous 
people  by  threats,  or  by  confounding  them  with  abstruse  doc- 
trinal mysteries.  The  Christian  religion  is  simple  and  easily 
understood  ;  the  most  ignorant  may  be  taught  to  comprehend 


THE  MISSIONARIES  IN  SYRIA.  273 

it,  if  it  be  presented  in  the  unpretending  language  of  its  best 
and  greatest  teacher.  But  in  order  Jo  do  this,  it  would  seem 
necessary  that  the  mind  of  the  barbarian  should  be  prepared 
in  some  measure  to  receive  it  by  a  knowledge  of  the  princi 
pies  upon  which  it  is  founded  ;  by  some  practical,  tangible 
showing  of  the  difference  between  right  and  wrong ;  by  such 
preparatory  lessons  in  civilization,  as  would  enable  him  to 
perceive  the  temporal,  as  well  as  the  spiritual  advantage  of 
what  he  was  learning. 

The  schools  attached  to  the  missions  throughout  the  East 
are,  in  this  view,  of  incalculable  service  to  the  cause  of  Chris- 
tianity ;  and,  although  there  is  perhaps  no  other  part  of  the 
world  where  so  many  difficulties  have  to  be  contended  against, 
the  success  which  has  attended  the  missionary  teachings  is 
most  remarkable.  In  Athens,  Mr.  Hill,  by  his  judicious  and 
admirable  system  of  education,  gradually  inspiring  in  his 
pupils  a  love  of  virtue,  and  a  thirst  for  spiritual  knowledge, 
has  made  an  impression  on  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  rising 
generation  of  Greeks  that  must  eventually  spread  and  become 
general  throughout  the  land.  Evangelides,  the  Greek-Amer- 
ican of  Syra,  has  also  done  much  by  his  teachings  ;  and  the 
same  may  be  said  of  all  the  missionaries  and  teachers  whorr 
I  met  with  in  the  Levant. 

One  of  the  most  memorable  and  delightful  evenings  of  my 
whole  pilgrimage  was  spent  in  the  church  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Smith  of  Beirut.  There,  for  the  first  time  in  m^life,  I  heard 
the  Christian  religion  expounded  in  the  land  of  its  origin. 
Attracted,  as  I  was  strolling  by  the  door  of  the  humble  little 
church,  by  the  chaste  and  classic  eloquence  of  the  preacher, 
\vith  whom  I  was  entirely  unacquainted,  I  stepped  in  and  took 
my  seat ;  and  I  may  safely  say,  that  never  had  I  listened  to 
a  more  delightful  or  instructive  discourse.  Among  the  con- 
gregation was  a  large  number  of  intelligent-looking  Arabs,  in 
their  native  costume  ;  and  the  profound  attention  with  which 
they  listened  to  the  teachings  of  their  pastor,  and  the  strict 
decorum  and  good-breeding  evinced  in  their  manner,  struck 
me  as  the  most  impressive  instance  of  progress  in  a  land  ot 
darkness  and  ignorance,  toward  a  Jbetter  state  of  things,  that 

M* 


274  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

I  had  ever  witnessed.  Who  can  measure  the  good  that  each 
one  of  these  Arabs  may,,  by  his  influence  and  example,  do  foi 
his  fellow-men,  even  in  his  own  day  and  generation  ? 

Damascus  has  always  been  noted  as  the  stronghold  of 
Islamism  ;  and  the  inhabitants  have  ever  been  distinguished 
for  their  bigotry  and  intolerance.  Until  very  recently,  Chris- 
tian pilgrims  were  not  only  subject  to  insults  in  passing  through 
the  streets,  but  frequently  assaulted  and  maltreated  without 
provocation.  A  great  improvement  has  become  perceptible 
in  this  respect  within  a  few  years  past.  Missionaries  from 
every  civilized  nation  are  now  permitted  to  preach,  and  edu 
cate  the  native  children  without  molestation  ;  and  although 
the  result  of  their  labors  is  not  so  encouraging  as  in  other 
portions  of  Syria  where  there  is  less  intolerance,  yet  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  the  great  cause  of  civilization  is 
taking  root,  and  that  a  few  years  more  will  develop  a  growth 
equal  to  the  most  sanguine  anticipations  of  those  who  are  in- 
terested in  it. 

Mr.  Burnet,  who  has  been  in  Damascus  only  six  or  seven 
years,  now  preaches  to  a  respectable  congregation  of  Arabs  in 
their  own  tongue.  Dr.  Shephard,  Mr.  Lansing,  and  others, 
are  making  rapid  progress  in  the  education  of  the  Arab  chil- 
dren ;  and  when  the  system  which  they  have  adopted  is 
thoroughly  in  operation,  there  can  be  no  question  as  to  its 
beneficial  results. 

To  each  jjnd  all  of  these  gentlemen  I  am  indebted  for  much 
valuable  information  in  regard  to  the  social  condition  of  the 
Syrians  ;  and  I  shall  always  remember  with  unfeigned  pleas- 
ure the  delightful  and  profitable  hours  which  I  was  so  fortu- 
nate as  to  spend  in  their  society. 

After  seeing  all  that  travelers,  limited  in  time,  can  be  ex- 
pected to  see  in  Damascus  and  the  neighborhood,  we  bade 
good-by  to  our  kind  friends,  mounted  our  horses  once  more, 
and  proceeded  on  our  journey. 

For  three  days  nothing  particular  occurred.  A  heavy  rain- 
storm set  in  as  we  left  Damascus ;  and  we  were  drenched  to 
the  skin,  and  compelled  at  last  to  seek  shelter  in  a  miserable 
village  up  in  the  mo  mtains,  called  Far-how-ar.  On  the  fo)- 


THE  MISSIONARIES  IN  SYRIA.  275 

lowing  day,  the  rain  turned  to  a  cutting  sleet,  and  we  were 
forced  to  stop  at  Beit  Jem.  Taking  the  rough  bridle-path 
from  that  village,  we  ascended  Jebel-esh-Sheik,  or  Mt.  Her- 
mon,  where  we  suffered  intensely  from  the  cold.  The  mount 
ain  was  covered  with  snow ;  and  the  whole  aspect  of  the 
country  was  wild  and  baffen.  We  saw  a  few  jackals  among 
the  rocks,  and  shot  at  one  that  came  snuffing  the  air  rather 
close  to  us,  but,  with  our  usual  luck,  missed  him. 

On  the  evening  of  the  third  day  we  descended  near  by  an 
old  castle,  to  the  village  of  Baneas,  the  ancient  Cesarea  Phi- 
lippi.  We  saw  here  the  grotto  from  which  flows  the  spring 
said  by  some  authorities  to  be  the  source  of  the  Jordan.  I 
had  promised  to  meet  Doctor  Mendoza  and  the  Madam  at 
Philippi ;  but  they  had  passed  on  the  day  before,  evidently 
because  it  was  "  imposs  to  remain  tranquil"  in  such  a  place. 
I  had  also  on  various  occasions  during  my  life  agreed  to  meet 
friends  and  foes  in  Philippi.  The  friends  were  not  there  :  I 
was  not  disappointed  in  regard  to  the  foes.  We  all  had  an 
abundance  of  them  during  the  night,  and  in  the  morning 
had  no  cause  to  complain  of  having  met  nothing  in  Philippi. 


I 

<•!' 
CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  MULETEERS. 

THIS  morning,  before  leaving  Baneas,  a  terrible  battle  took 
place  between  my  dragoman  Yusef  and  the  muleteers.  I 
caution  the  reader  not  to  be  alarmed  for  my  safety,  when  I 
state,  that  on  an  average,  we  have  a  battle  every  day.  Neither 
do  I  claim  any  great  merit  as  a  military  man,  on  account  of 
the  coolness  with  which  I  witness  the  strife  of  the  contending 
parties ;  because,  to  be  candid,  I  always  contrive  to  occupy 
some  elevated  position  at  a  safe  distance  from  the  scene  of 
action,  where  I  sit  smoking  my  chibouck  very  pleasantly  till 
the  conclusion  of  the  fight.  Besides,  I  know  that  Yusef  is 
bound  to  conquer,  because  he  not  only  carries  all  the  arms, 
but  is  perpetually  so  boiling  over  with  courage,  that  even 
when  there  is  no  real  enemy  at  hand,  he  shoots  the  air  and 
kills  a  great  many  imaginary  enemies.  Under  these  circum- 
stances I  feel  a  confidence  in  the  result  that  is  very  cheering. 
The  cause  of  the  present  difficulty  was  this,  as  well  as  I  could 
learn  :  The  muleteers  having  found  some  old  acquaintances 
at  Baneas,  had  spent  the  night  in  smoking  and  talking.  When 
the  time  arrived  for  starting  they  were  in  a  sound  sleep. 
Yusef  tried,  by  all  manner  of  pushing  and  shouting,  to  wake 
them  up  ;  but  the  more  he  tried  the  more  they  remained  fast 
asleep.  The  effect  seemed  rather  to  be  agreeable  than  other- 
wise. At  last,  bereft  of  all  patience,  and  aided  by  Francesco, 
he  caught  them  by  the  legs  and  dragged  them  out  of  doors, 
where  he  eventually  brought  them  to  life,  both  by  personal 
violence  and  a  fierce  torrent  of  abuse.  "  Now,"  said  he,  as  I 
judged  from  his  tone  and  manner,  "if  those  mules  are  not 
ready  in  ten  minutes,  I'll  flog  every  one  of  you  !  I'll  then  cut 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  MULETEERS.      277 

your  throats  from  ear  to  ear.  After  that  I'll  tear  out  your 
livers,  and  give  them  to  the  dogs ;  I'll  make  rnince-meat  of 
your  hearts,  and  hang  your  bodies  up  by  the  heels,  as  a  warn- 
ing to  all  muleteers  throughout  Syria.  Yea,  by  the  beard  of 
the  Prophet,  if  that  won't  do,  I'll  tie  you  to  the  tail  of  my 
horse  and  drag  you  to  Jerusalem,  and  when  I  get  you  there 
I'll — no,  I  won't  bury  you  in  holy  ground — I'll  eat  you  !  By 
Allah,  I'll  EAT  YOU  !"  This  last  threat  was  evidently  made  on 
the  spur  of  the  moment ;  it  was  too  dreadful  to  be  premedi- 
tated, and  must  have  had  its  origin  in  the  difficulty  of  getting 
rid  of  the  bodies  after  dragging  them  to  Jerusalem.  I  could 
not  think  that  Yusef  really  meant  to  eat  the  muleteers  ;  for, 
leaving  aside  every  moral  consideration,  they  were  the  dirtiest 
set  of  vagabonds  I  ever  saw,  and  must  have  been  thoroughly 
saturated  with  smoke.  However,  they  seemed  to  think  a  lit- 
tle more  smoking  would  do  them  no  harm  ;  for  the  moment, 
Yusef  turned  his  back  and  went  into  the  khan  to  pack  up  the 
cooking  utensils,  they  very  coolly  filled  their  pipes  and  began 
to  smoke  again,  conversing  at  the  same  time  with  great  good- 
humor.  At  the  expiration  of  half-an-hour,  having  waited 
patiently  all  this  time,  I  ventured  mildly  to  suggest  that  we 
ought  to  be  on  our  way,  or  we  would  never  be  able  to  reach 
Tiberias.  Upon  this  hint  Yusef  became  suddenly  fired  with 
unconquerable  indignation  toward  the  muleteers.  He  rushed 
furiously  out  of  the  khan,  the  veins  swollen  in  his  forehead, 
and  rage  depicted  in  every  feature.  I  followed  at  a  reasona- 
ble distance,  thinking  there  would  certainly  be  bloodshed  this 
time.  "  Where  are  they  ?"  he  shrieked.  "  Show  me  the  ras- 
cals 1  Ho!  Yakob  !  Hassin  !  Mustapha  !"  "  Here  we  are," 
said  they ;  and,  behold,  they  were  sitting  in  the  same  spot, 
smoking  their  chiboucks.  "  Dogs  !"  cried  Yusef,  drawing  his 
pistol,  "  didn't  I  tell  you  I'd  kill  you  if  the  mules  were  not 
ready  in  ten  minutes  ?  Die,  dogs,  die  !"  But  they  had  no 
idea  of  dying  ;  on  the  contrary,  they  rose  to  their  feet,  and 
began  to  expostulate  with  Yusef  on  the  violence  of  his  con- 
duct, which  brought  forth  a  counter  expostulation  from  him, 
and  a  retort  from  them,  and  then  a  retort  from  him  again, 
which  brought  up  old  scores,  and  the  battle  raged  fiercely  in 


278  A  CllUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

words  for  the  space  of  half-an-hour.  It  became  by  that  time 
perfectly  furious.  Yuscf  howled  and  shrieked,  and  spat  at  the 
muleteers ;  and  the  muleteers  howled  and  shrieked,  by  turn, 
and  then  smoked.  The  pistol  evidently  was  a  failure  ;  it  was 
returned  to  its  case.  The  battle  of  words  now  waxing  fiercer, 
Yusef  lost  all  patience.  Drawing  his  sword,  he  flourished  it 
thrice  over  his  head,  shut  his  eyes,  and  rushed  blindly  at  the 
rebels  !  But  there  was  no  sign  of  a  panic  ;  they  stood  very 
calmly  while  he  flourished  his  sword  around  their  heads,  as  if 
they  thought  the  cuts  and  thrusts  that  he  made  at  them  had 
no  foundation  in  reality.  Having  completely  exhausted  him- 
self by  the  effort,  he  eventually  returned  the  sword  to  its  scab- 
bard and  sat  down.  One  of  the  muleteers,  Mustapha,  was 
conspicuous  for  his  docile  temper.  He  was  a  comical  old  fel- 
low, always  in  a  good  humor,  and  ready  to  bear  any  amount 
of  ill-treatment.  Now,  in  cases  of  difficulty,  Yusef  always 
ended  the  matter  by  beating  Mustapha.  Already  he  had 
beaten  him  several  times ;  and  in  Damascus,  apprehending 
trouble  on  the  road  from  a  growing  disposition  to  mutiny  on 
the  part  of  the  muleteers,  he  had  provided  himself  with  sev- 
eral tough  sticks,  to  encourage  discipline.  In  the  present 
emergency,  seeing  Mustapha  close  at  hand,  he  sprang  to  hia 
feet,  calling  to  Francesco  to  bring  him  his  best  stick,  and 
seized  the  poor  fellow  by  the  coat.  The  stick  came ;  Mus- 
tapha begged  ;  Yusef  stormed  ;  Mustapha  promised  ;  Yusef 
foamed  and  spat  upon  him  ;  Mustapha  howled  most  piteous- 
ly ;  Yusef  raged  most  furiously ;  Mustapha  called  upon  the 
Prophet  to  save  him  ;  Yusef  struck  him  for  his  impiety,  in 
taking  the  name  of  the  Prophet  in  vain.  The  more  Mustapha 
begged  and  wept,  the  more  Yusef  beat  him ;  till,  apprehen- 
sive of  serious  consequences,  I  called  upon  him  sternly  to  de- 
sist, on  the  pain  of  our  sublime  displeasure.  It  was  not  with- 
out reluctance  that  the  whipping  was  brought  to  a  conclusion. 
At  ten  o'clock  we  were  packed  and  mounted,  and  on  our 
winding  way  just  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  Mustapha 
cracked  pleasant  jokes  with  every  body,  and  laughed  heartily 
behind  Yusef's  back  at  the  idea  of  the  beating  and  shooting, 
going  through  a  great  many  pantomimic  motions,  showing 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  MULETEERS.      279 

how  people  died  when  they  were  shot,  and,  when  they  were 
not  shot,  how  they  were  beaten  with  a  stick,  and  how  they 
wept  at  the  pain  thereof. 

Meantime  Yusef  entertained  us  with  some  remarkable  in- 
stances of  his  courage,  touching  incidentally  upon  the  affair 
of  the  Djereed,  in  which  he  had  killed  four  men  and  disa- 
bled six  for  life — the  best  men  that  could  be  produced  by  the 
great  Prince  of  Lebanon.  He  also  pointed  out  the  precise 
spot  where  he  had  recently  shot  a  dead  man  under  the  most 
singular  and  appalling  circumstances.  It  seemed  that  in 
returning  to  Damascus,  after  leaving  a  party  of  travelers  at 
Jerusalem,  he  had  occasion  to  pass  this  way  in  the  middle  of 
the  night,  which  was  the  time  he  usually  chose  for  traveling 
when  alone,  as  it  increased  the  danger  of  robbers.  He  knew 
there  were  robbers  waiting  for  him  here,  and  in  order  to  give 
them  notice  of  his  approach  he  was  singing  merrily  as  he 
rode  along.  All  at  once  he  saw  a  very  tall  man,  as  he 
thought,  standing  under  an  olive  tree,  with  his  face  turned 
up,  looking  at  the  moon.  "  Ho,  villain!"  shouted  our  travel- 
er, "  is  it  me  you  want  ?  Fall  down  on  your  knees,  wretch, 
and  beg  for  mercy.  Behold  !  I  am  Yusef  Badra,  the  destroyer 
of  robbers!"  The  man  instead  of  falling  upon  his  knees 
eeemed  to  grow  taller  as  the  destroyer  of  robbers  approached 
"  Fool,  that  you  are !"  cried  Yusef,  riding  up  still  closer  and 
drawing  his  pistols  ;  "  don't  you  know  I  never  miss  killing 
when  I  shoot."  Still  the  man  made  no  reply.  "  Then  die! 
die  like  a  dog!"  Saying  which  Yusef  fired  six  times,  and 
each  time  he  heard  a  ball  strike.  "  Oho !"  said  he,  perceiving 
that  the  man  only  moved  a  little  without  falling  down  or 
uttering  a  single  groan,  "  you  are  the  devil ;  I'm  very  glad 
to  see  you,  old  gentleman !  Yusef  Badra  is  not  afraid  of  the 
devil,  or  any  body  else  ;  besides,  we  have  a  small  account  to 
settle."  Upon  which,  drawing  his  sword,  he  urged  his  fright- 
ened horse  up  to  the  spot  and  ran  the  mysterious  stranger 
clean  through  the  body.  It  was  not  until  then  that  he  dis- 
covered his  mistake.  He  had  shot  and  pierced  through  the 
body  a  dead  man !  The  corpse  was  hung  to  a  branch  of  the 
tree  by  the  neck,  and  the  feet,  being  in  the  shade,  were  invia- 


280  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST 

ible  at  a  short  distance.  It  \vas  a  poor  traveler  whom  the 
robbers  had  murdered  that  night.  Yusef  cut  the  corpse  down, 
as  he  informed  us,  and  pinned  upon  it  these  words,  which  he 
wrote  upon  a  piece  of  paper  by  the  light  of  the  moon  :  "If 
ever  Yusef  Badra  meets  the  wretches  who  murdered  this 
man,  he  will  cut  their  heads  off  and  hang  them  by  the  heels 
to  this  tree." 

On  the  road  leading  down  into  the  valley  of  El  Huleh  we 
crossed,  near  Baneas,  the  chief  source  of  the  Jordan.  At  this 
point  it  is  nothing  more  than  a  good  spring  of  clear  water, 
enlarged  to  the  size  of  a  rivulet  by  contributions  from  several 
smaller  springs.  It  comes  from  a  large  cave  in  the  mount 
ain  a  little  beyond  Baneas.  In  an  hour  and  a  half,  having 
descended  a  long  slope  over  a  bed  of  rocks,  we  reached  an 
old  bridge  with  three  arches,  which  crosses  a  stream  called 
by  the  natives  the  true  source  of  the  Jordan.  It  is  a  disput- 
ed point  among  biblical  writers  which  of  the  two  is  in  reality 
entitled  to  the  name,  the  size  being  nearly  equal ;  but  the 
best  authorities  seem  to  concur  in  giving  the  distinction  to 
the  stream  nearest  to  Baneas.  Before  reaching  the  bridge 
we  passed  several  fine  olive  groves,  and  had  a  distant  view 
of  the  lake  El  Huleh,  whose  bright  waters  gleamed  like  a 
sheet  of  silver  in  the  hollow  of  the  great  plain. 

From  the  bridge  we  struck  out  into  a  marsh,  directing  our 
course  toward  the  base  of  Jebel  Egil,  the  range  of  mountains 
on  the  right  of  El  Huleh.  We  soon  found  that  the  recent 
heavy  rains  had  flooded  all  the  low  grounds,  and  our  horses 
and  mules  were  sometimes  scarcely  able  to  extricate  them- 
selves from  the  mud.  Our  baggage  was  frequently  thrown 
off  the  backs  of  the  mules  in  their  struggles,  and  recovered 
with  great  difficulty  and  delay.  We  saw  waterfowl  all 
around  us,  chiefly  cranes,  snipe,  and  such  as  are  common  in 
swampy  grounds  ;  and  by  dint  of  a  great  deal  of  firing,  at  tho 
expense  of  an  immense  quantity  of  powder  and  shot,  acci- 
dentally killed  two  cranes  that  flew  up  suddenly  within  ten 
feet  of  our  sportsmen.  In  the  afternoon  we  saw  for  the  first 
time  a  Bedouin  village.  It  consisted  of  a  dozen  or  fifteen 
low  black  tents,  in  the  midst  of  the  marsh,  with  a  popula- 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  MULETEERS.       281 

lion  of  lean  and  savage-looking  Arabs,  who  looked  scowl- 
ingly  at  us  as  we  passed.  Soon  after,  we  passed  another  en- 
campment— an  extensive  village-  of  tents  and  straw  cabins 
Horses  were  tied  to  stakes  about  the  doors,  and  herds  of  buf- 
falo, with  short  thick  horns  twisted  back,  grazed  in  the  sur- 
rounding marshes.  Several  lean  and  wolfish  dogs  ran  fierce- 
ly at  us,  but  fled  howling  as  we  presented  our  guns.  These 
Bedouins  are  not  the  genuine  descendants  of  Hagar,  or  the 
supposed  wild  Ishmaelites  who  still  roam  the  deserts  of  Arabia. 
They  are  partially  civilized  by  intermixture  with  the  Syrian 
Arabs,  and  lead  rather  a  pastoral  than  a  predatory  life. 
Those  who  abide  in  the  valley  of  El  Huleh  pay  tribute  to  the 
Turkish  Government  for  the  use  of  the  land,  and  reside  upon 
the  plains  permanently,  moving  their  villages  from  one  part 
to  another  as  the  sheiks  direct.  Large  herds  of  tame  buffalo 
find  excellent  pasturage  here  during  the  entire  year,  and 
upon  the  produce  of  these  and  the  cultivation  to  some  extent 
of  the  soil  they  contrive  to  obtain  a  tolerable  subsistence. 
The  land  in  some  parts  of  the  valley  is  exceedingly  fertile, 
and  seems  well  adapted  to  the  production  of  Indian  corn,  of 
which  the  Bedouins  raise  a  small  quantity.  Around  the 
bases  of  the  mountains,  where  the  land  is  not  too  marshy, 
wheat  thrives  well  by  the  mere  scratching  up  of  the  ground 
with  rude  wooden  plows  (such  as  were  used  in  scriptural 
times),  and  sufficient  flour  for  the  people  of  the  valley  is  pro- 
duced with  very  little  labor.  Rice  is  grown  in  the  marshy 
lands,  and  grass  abounds  naturally  throughout  the  plain.  In 
the  vicinity  of  lake  El  Huleh  tall  rushes  and  flags  grow  in 
great  quantities,  which  are  found  useful  in  building  and  roof- 
ing the  huts.  It  seemed  a  little  strange  to  us  that  these 
people  should  live  in  the  low  grounds,  their  tents  and  cabins 
floating  in  water  half  the  time,  exposed  to  the  full  glare  of 
the  sun  in  summer  and  the  piercing  winds  in  winter,  while 
not  more  than  a  few  huhtlred  yards  distant,  on  the  sides  of  the 
mountains,  were  some  very  pretty  sites  for  villages,  pleasant- 
ly shaded  by  bushes,  and  protected  from  floods  and  storms. 
But  there  is  no  accounting  for  tastes,  certainly  no  accounting 
for  the  tastes  of  the  Bedouins.  Some  of  the  women  and 


282  A  CRUSADE  IN  I'HE  EAST. 

children  were  remarkable  for  the  beauty  of  their  features ; 
the  men  had  also  fine  features  and  a  commanding  air  about 
them  even  in  their  rags  ;  but  they  were  a  swarthy,  unwashed 
pet  of  vagabonds  at  best,  and  lived  in  a  style  more  suitable  to 
a  village  of  beavers  than  to  any  thing  of  the  human  kind. 

In  the  winter  the  greater  part  of  the  plain  of  El  Huleh  is 
covered  with  water ;  all  the  small  streams  from  the  mount- 
ains swell  the  lake  till  it  overflows  its  low  banks  and  spread* 
around  for  many  miles.  The  sources  of  the  Jordan  may  be 
considered  as  flowing  chiefly  from  the  neighborhood  of  Ba- 
neas ;  but  every  stream  that  runs  into  the  lake  of  El  Huleh 
forms  in  reality  an  additional  source,  as  they  all  unite  in  the 
lake,  and  eventually  find  their  way,  through  the  Sea  of  Gal- 
ilee, into  the  main  river  Jordan,  which  winds  from  thence 
a  distance  of  seventy  miles  into  the  Dead  Sea. 

On  leaving  the  Bedouin  villages  we  rode  on  toward  Am- 
el-Malaha,  or  the  Stream  of  the  Mill.  Our  dragoman,  who 
had  maintained  a  profound  silence  for  some  hours,  while  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  Bedouins,  now  gave  vent  to  one  of  those 
sudden  paroxysms  of  fury  which  had  frequently  alarmed  us 
with  apprehensions  of  an  attack  from  some  hidden  enemy. 
We  were  riding  along  very  pleasantly,  not  dreaming  of  the 
least  danger,  when  Yusef,  without  the  slightest  warning, 
dashed  madly  out  of  our  ranks,  yelling  like  the  very  demon 
of  wrath,  and  whirling  his  gun  fiercely  over  his  head.  The 
war-whoop  of  an  American  Indian  could  not  compare  at  all 
with  the  battle-cry  of  our  ferocious  dragoman.  Away  he 
scoured  over  the  plain,  causing  the  earth  to  fly  up  from  his 
horse's  hoofs  in  a  perfect  shower,  turning  and  rearing,  charg- 
ing and  chasing  the  enemy.  Arrived  at  close  quarters,  he 
fired  his  gun ;  then  drew  his  pistols  and  fired  them,  and  then 
with  a  savage  yell  drew  his  sword,  which  he  flourished  with 
one  hand,  and  his  dagger,  which  he  flourished  with  the  other, 
and  then  he  laid  about  him  in  front  and  behind,  and  on  the 
left  side  and  the  right  side,  cleaving  skulls,  ripping,  cutting, 
and  thrusting,  and  charging  over  dead  bodies,  and  shriek- 
ing raadly  for  more  live  ones  to  come  on.  "  Villains,  cow- 
ards, dogs !  the  whole  of  you  together  come  on !  come  on ! 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  MULETEERS.      283 

and  die  by  the  avenging  hand  of  Yusef  Badra  !"  I  declare, 
on  the  veracity  of  a  traveler,  it  was  the  most  desperate  and 
exciting  conflict  I  ever  beheld.  By  the  time  I  had  ridden  up  to 
the  assistance  of  our  friend  who  was  so  bravely  defending  us, 
I  could  not  perceive  that  there  was  a  single  live  person  left,  and 
even  the  dead  had  disappeared.  "Why,  in  the  name  of  com- 
mon sense,"  said  I,  "  what  have  you  been  shooting  at  and 
killing  all  this  time?"  "Killing!"  shouted  Yusef  fiercely, 
his  eyes  starting  from  their  sockets,  while  he  panted  and 
foamed  with  rage;  "killing!  I  could  kill  forty  thousand  of 
them  !  There  never  was  a  Bedouin  yet  that  could  stand  be- 
fore me.  I  only  wish  I  had  some  of  the  rascals  here  now!" 
"Keep  cool,  Yusef,"  said  I,  alarmed  at  the  frightening  de- 
monstrations he  was  making,  "  keep  cool,  it's  much  the  best 
way."  "  Cool,  sir  !  By  Allah,  I'll  go  back  to  the  village  this 
very  momeut  and  kill  a  dozen  of  'em  for  pastime.  Do  you 
think,  prince  of  Generals !  that  Fin  afraid  of  a  beggarly  set 
of  Bedouins  !"  "  No,  certainly  not,  Yusef,"  said  I,  soothingly. 
"Nevertheless,"  cried  he,  fired  by  another  sudden  burst  of 
fury,  "  I  must,  by  the  beard  of  the  Prophet^I  must,  go  back 
and  kill  a  dozen  of  'em,  or  I  can't  sleep  to-night !"  Saying 
which  he  clapped  heels  to  his  horse,  and  was  about  to  dash 
off  again,  when  1  shouted,  "Hold,  Yusef,  hold  !  I  insist  that 
you  leave  those  Bedouins  alone,  and  don't  attack  them.  Re- 
member what  our  defenseless  condition  would  be  during  your 
absence !  "  True,  General,  true  ;  I  won't  attack  'em  to- 
night for  your  sake.  I  respect  you,  oh,  glorious  General ! 
commander  of  all  the  military  forces  in  America !  I  love 
you  better  than  the  brother  of  my  heart !  This  night  you 
shall  sleep  soundly  in  Ain-el-Malaha." 

We  rode  on  peacefully  for  some  distance  after  this,  and  en- 
countered no  other  immediate  danger  than  that  of  being 
walked  over  by  several  caravans  of  camels  heavily  laden 
with  produce  for  the  markets  of  Damascus,  which  we  met 
in  some  of  the  narrow  passes  as  we  approached  the  Mill  of 
Malaha. 

When  there  was  nothing  particular  to  occupy  our  attention 
in  the  way  of  ruins  or  scenery,  it  sometimes  happened  that 


284  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

we  became  sleepy  from  the  monotony  of  our  journey,  and  la& 
ged  along  in  pairs,  conversing  drowsily  upon  various  topics 
suggested  by  the  occasion.  I  was  very  fond  of  drawing  Yusef 
out,  when  he  was  in  the  proper  spirit,  not  only  because  he 
was  well  informed  upon  the  every-day  affairs  of  Syrian  life  ; 
but  from  a  habit  of  argument  into  which  I  have  fallen,  in 
consequence  of  three  years'  experience  as  a  reporter  in  the 
United  States  Senate.  If  I  sometimes  become  a  little  dispos- 
ed to  indulge  in  flights  of  eloquence,  not  strictly  called  for 
by  any  existing  emergency,  it  is  altogether  through  the  force 
of  example. 

The  tall  Southerner  and  the  English  Captain,  having  both 
fallen  into  a  doze,  while  they  jogged  along  about  a  mile  be- 
hind, I  took  advantage  of  the  occasion  to  indulge  in  one  of  iny 
customary  chats  with  Yusef,  who  seemed  in  an  uncommonly 
good  humor,  considering  that  all  the  Bedouins  were  out  of 
sight.  But  this  conversation  being  of  an  important  character, 
I  must  give  a  verbatim  report  of  it  in  a  separate  chapter. 


. 

• 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

THE    GRAND    SECRET    OF    HUMAN    HAPPINESS. 

GENERAL. — "  How  is  it,  Yusef,  that  your  countrymen  never 
think  of  bettering  their  condition  ?  See  that  lazy  wretch 
basking  iu  the  sun  there  ;  why  doesn't  he  go  to  work  and  do 


TAKING    IT   EASY. 


something  useful  ?  I  verily  believe  he  smokes  all  day  and 
sleeps  all  night." 

YUSEF. — "And  wherefore,  0  General,  should  he  trouble 
his  head  about  any  thing  more  ?  The  very  philosophy  of 
life  is  to  be  content  with  as  little  as  possible  in  this  world." 

GENERAL. — "  Then  he  must  be  a  great  philosopher,  for  he 


286  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST 

certainly  has  no  visible  means  of  support.     It  takes  uncom- 
monly little  to  satisfy  him,  so  far  as  I  can  see." 

YUSEF. — "  Yet  that  little  appears  to  be  enough.  He  takes 
it  easy,  as  you  may  perceive,  and  doesn't  seem  at  all  un- 
happy." 

GENERAL. — "  Faugh  !  what  a  barbarous  life  !  A  fine  look 
ing  fellow  like  that  fooling  away  his  time  basking  in  the  sun 
like  a  great  rnud-turtle.  Why,  in  our  country  he  might  earn 
his  dollar  a  day." 

YUSEF. — "  True,  0  General,  but  he'd  have  to  work." 

GENERAL. — "  Of  course  he  would — ten  hours  a  day,  at 
least.  Then  you  see  he'd  have  the  pleasure  of  spending  his 
money.  He'd  pay  a  tolerably  high  price  for  a  small  cabin  to 
live  in ;  and  a  tolerably  high  price  for  something  to  eat,  and 
tolerably  high  prices  for  clothing  for  himself  and  family,  and 
at  the  end  of  a  week,  after  six  days  of  honest  toil,  digging  a 
well  or  down  in  a  coal-pit,  perhaps,  he'd  feel  tolerably  tired 
and  sleep  soundly  till  the  morning  of  the  seventh." 

YUSEF. — "  To  my  poor  understanding,  0  General,  that 
seems  rather  a  melancholy  life — not  a  hopeful  one  at  least. 
I  can  only  say  that  touching  the  matter  of  labor,  I  am  in  the 
dark  as  to  what  it  ends  in." 

GENERAL  (smiling). — "  Why,  it  ends  in  labor,  to  be  sure  ; 
the  man  labors  for  money ;  and  ,when  he  gets  it  he  labors 
either  to  keep  it  or  spend  it.  But  don't  you  perceive  the  dif- 
ference between  a  mere  animal  existence,  and  that  noble  am 
bition  which  inspires  a  civilized  people  to  seek  for  active, 
positive,  or  palpable  happiness — something  they  can  hold  in 
their  hands  and  look  at.  In  our  country,  there  are  men  who 
go  thousands  of  miles  by  land  and  water  (some  try  to  go  in 
the  air)  to  dig  up  gold  in  order  that  they  may  be  happy 
"When  they  get  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  they  only  want 
another  hundred  thousand,  and  when  they  get  that  they  only 
want  half  a  million  more,  by  which  time  they  might  be  per- 
fectly happy  only  for  some  other  want.  Sometimes  when 
they  haven't  any  other  want  in  particular,  they  lose  all  their 
money  by  some  visitation  of  providence — a  fire  or  flood,  or  dia 
of  a  fever  just  as  they  are  going  to  be  perfectly  happy." 


THE  GRAND  SECRET  OF  HUMAN  HAPPINESS.      287 

YUSEF. — "  Adjaib  !  wonderful !  And  do  they  pray,  too, 
as  well  as  do  all  this  ?" 

GENERAL. — "  Why — yes  :  they  contrive  to  spare  one  day 
out  of  seven  ostensibly  for  that  purpose  ;  some  of  them  can't 
spare  even  that.  While  you  barbarians  spend  most  of  your 
time  in  idleness,  taking  it  easy,  as  the  saying  is ;  stopping 
what  little  work  you  do  at  least  five  times  a  day  to  pray  and 
smoke,  no  matter  how  important  may  be  your  business,  we 
work  hard  early  and  late,  and  never  stop  our  labors  (especially 
if  they  be  profitable)  to  pray  at  all,  and  very  seldom  to  smoke, 
though  we  economize  time  by  chewing  a  little.  I  never  knew 
a  man  in  our  country  to  think  so  much  of  his  soul  or  any 
body  else's  as  to  stop  short  in  a  bargain  amounting  to  ten 
dollars,  or  even  ten  cents,  for  the  purpose  of  communing  with 
his  Maker.  We  don't  do  it ;  we  haven't  got  the  time  ;  can't 
spare  it.  Time  is  money,  Yusef.  Every  day  is  a  dollar,  or 
five  dollars,  or  ten  dollars;  every  minute  is  a  cent  or  the 
fraction  of  a  cent,  more  or  less. 

YUSEF. — "  But,  in  the  name  of  the  Prophet,  when  you  get 
all  this  money  together,  what  do  you  do  with  it  ?  Don't  you 
ever  stop  working  ?" 

GENERAL. — "  Oh,  yes  :  we  retire  from  business  sometimes; 
purchase  a  country  seat — build  a  handsome  villa,  and  live 
there  a  month  or  two,  by  which  time  we  become  perfectly 
satisfied." 

YUSEF. — "  Then  you  take  it  easy,  and  smoke  the  pipe  of 
content  at  last  ?" 

GENERAL. — "  Why,  no — not  exactly.  We  become  perfectly 
satisfied  that  it's  a  dull  business — that  it  won't  pay  :  too  slow, 
entirely  too  slow ;  can't  get  through  life  fast  enough  doing 
nothing  in  the  country.  Go  back  to  town.  Speculate;  make 
more  money — or  lose  what  we've  got.  The  fact  is,  life  is  a 
bore  at  best ;  we  know  it ;  we  get  through  it  as  fast  as  we 
can,  in  order  to  skim  off  what  cream  there  may  be  in  it,  and 
enjoy  it  in  a  concentrated  form  ;  we  live  a  good  deal  in  a 
short  time." 

YUSEF. — "  But  what  becomes  of  all  the  money  you  maka 
by  living  fast?" 


288  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

GENERAL. — "  Oh,  we  leave  it  to  our  children.  We  can't 
well  spare  the  time  to  eat  it  or  wear  it  on  our  backs,  so  when 
we  die  we  bequeath  it  to  our  sons,  who,  being  rather  younger 
in  the  world,  don't  know  its  value,  and  spend  it.  They  spend 
it  tolerably  fast  sometimes,  Yusef ;  they  live  very  rapidly  on 
it,  indeed — railroad  fashion,  using  a  good  deal  of  steam  to 
help  them  along :  they  get  over  the  track  with  considerable 
velocity,  you  may  depend  upon  it." 

YUSEF. — "  And  then  what  do  they  do  ?*' 

GENERAL  (with  a  yawn). — "  Bust!" 

Yusef  whistles  with  astonishment,  but  says  nothing. 

GENERAL  (finding  Yusef  so  favorably  disposed  toward  a 
peaceful  and  contented  mode  of  life). — "  I  consider  this  an 
appropriate  occasion,  Yusef,  to  let  you  know  my  utter  abhor- 
rence of  the  system  of  flogging  which  you  adopt  in  your  man- 
agement of  the  muleteers.  It  is  extremely  repugnant  to  my 
feelings,  and  I  beg  you  will  not  repeat  it  hereafter." 

YUSEF. — "  Inshalla  '  they  are  nothing  but  brutes.  It  does 
'em  good,  sir.  They  couldn't  get  along  without  it.  Fain 
would  I  do  any  thing  to  oblige  your  Excellency,  but  if  I  quit 
whipping  them  they  would  raise  a  mutiny  directly." 

GENERAL. — "  A  most  absurd  argument — fit  only  for  a  bar- 
barous people.  These  muleteers  are  freemen,  and  not  slaves. 
You  have  no  moral  right  to  whip  them.  If  they  were  slaves 
it  might  be  another  question.  What  do  you  think  would  be 
the  result  if  we  Americans,  a  free-born  people,  were  to  seize 
up  a  free-born  sailor  or  soldier  and  flog  him  like  a  slave  ?" 

YUSEF. — "  Think,  0  General  ?  Doubtless  I'd  think  he 
deserved  it.  Discipline,  sir,  must  be  kept  up  in  all  the  rela- 
tions between  master  and  man.  If  a  man  won't  do  his  duty, 
he  must  be  whipped  into  it :  that's  the  way  I  always  serve 
these  dogs." 

GENERAL. — "  It  wouldn't  do  for  you  to  undertake  such  a 
barbarous  thing  in  our  country.  Thank  God  !  we  are  a  civ- 
ilized people.  Public  sentiment  and  the  laws  of  the  land 
would  soon  put  down  such  tyranny.*  The  captain  of  a  whale- 
ship,  or  of  any  other  ship,  who  flogs  a  man  and  accidentally 
kills  him  by  too  much  flogging,  is  tried  by  the  laws  of  the 


THE  GRAND  SECRET  OF  HUMAN  HAPPINESS.      289 

land,  and  fined  from  five  dollars  up  to  fifty  !  Think  of  that ! 
I  have  known  naval  officers  to  be  tried  by  Court  Martial  for 
cruel  and  unusual  punishments,  and  even  REPRIMANDED,  in 
certain  extreme  cases  where  death  resulted  ;  yes,  Yusef,  some- 
times actually  informed  in  writing  that  they  were  to  consider 
themselves  severely  CENSURED  !" 

YUSEF. — "  To  ine,  0  General,  that  seems  to  be  a  most  un- 
wise and  oppressive  state  of  things.  "When  I  pay  a  man  for 
his  services  haven't  I  a  right  to  do  what  I  please  with  him, 
body  and  soul  ?  If  I  hire  him  to  work  and  he  won't  do  it, 
haven't  I  a  right  to  take  satisfaction  out  of  his  hide  ?  If  I 
take  a  dislike  to  him,  haven't  I  a  right  to  beat  him  upon  any 
pretext  whatever?" 

GENERAL  (excited). —  "  Great  heavens  !  .  Is  it  possible  that 
even  a  brutish  Arab  can  maintain  such  monstrous  doctrines 
as  these  ?  Do  you  know,  miserable  barbarian,  that  the  very 
walls  of  our  Capitol  would  cry  out  in  execration  of  doctrines 
so  absurd  and  inhuman  ?  Senators  would  rise  in  their  places, 
and  call  for  the  opinions  of  naval  and  military  commanders ; 
Secretaries  would  hold  official  councils,  and  proclaim  to  Con- 
gress and  the  world  their  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the 
service ;  Lieutenants,  Captains,  and  Generals  would  avow 
their  abhorrence  of  cruelty  in  every  form,  and  indignantly 
contend  against  sapping  the  foundation  of  our  national  de- 
fenses, by  depriving  them  of  an  established  privilege.  Never 
let  me  hear  you  utter  such  abominable  sentiments  again,  or, 
by  all  the  rights  of  humanity,  I'll  put  you  in  a  book  !  I'll  do 
it,  Yusef,  as  sure  as  fate !  Your  name  shall  figure  on  the 
title-page !" 

YUSEF  (turning  pale). — "  In  the  name  of  Allah,  beloved 
General,  Light  of  my  eyes  and  Friend  of  my  heart,  where- 
fore this  extreme  displeasure  ?  Surely,  thou  hast  mistaken 
my  meaning.  I  didn't  intend  to  say  that  I'd  make  whipping 
a  general  thing ;  that  I'd  whip  any  respectable  person  of  my 
own  class.  My  observations  were  designed  to  apply  exclu- 
sively to  low  brutes  of  muleteers,  without  friends  or  influ 
ence ;  mere  dregs  of  society,  destitute  of  brains  and  feeling. 
Your  Excellency  does  me  gross  injustice,  if  you  thmk  that. 

TM 


290  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

because  I  would  whip  a  muleteer  for  insolence  or  disorderly 
conduct,  that  I  would,  if  placed  in  command  of  a  ship,  or  at 
the  head  of  a  regiment,  whip  any  of  my  officers  for  the  same, 
or  even  a  much  greater  offense." 

GENERAL  (somewhat  pacified). — "  Of  course  not,  Yusef ; 
certainly  not.  •  I  never  knew  any  commander,  holding  a 
position  of  high  authority,  either  in  America  or  England,  to 
contend  for  such  an  indiscriminate  exercise  of  power  as  that. 
It  gratifies  me  to  observe,  that  ignorant  and  debased  as  you 
.are,  there  are  yet  some  enlightened  principles  of  civilization 
not  altogether  unfamiliar  to  you." 

YUSEF  (warmly). — "  Bless  your  generous  heart,  0  General ; 
I  knew  you'd  do  me  justice  !  I  knew  it  by  instinct !  What, 
sir,  flog  an  officer  for  getting  drunk  or  insulting  me  ?  No,  sir. 
I'd  take  him  aside  and  reprimand  him  ;  I'd  talk  to  him,  like 
a  brother,  with  tears  in  my  eyes,  or  challenge  him  to  mortal 
combat." 

GENERAL. — "  Such  is  the  practice  in  all  enlightened  com 
munities ;  and  I  must  say,  that  with  such  principles,  Yusef, 
you  would  be  an  ornament  to  any  community,'  however 
skilled  in  the  noble  science  of  human  destruction." 

YUSEF  (enthusiastically). — "  A  noble — a  glorious — a  won- 
derful science  !  0  great  and  effulgent  Chieftain !  brightest 
ornament  of  the  City  of  Magnificent  Distances  !  not  a  night 
passes  over  the  head  of  Yusef  Badra  that  he  doesn't  wallow  « 
in  rivers  of  blood  !  His  bed  is  a  bed  of  human  skulls  !  his 
pillow  is  the  cold  and  clammy  corpse  of  a  fellow  man !  the 
sweetest  breath  he  inhales  is  the  putrid  effluvia  of  the  dead  ! 
the  grinning  and  fleshless  jaws  of  his  enemies  are  smiling 
flowers  to  his  heart ;  the  ribs  and  joints  that  lie  scattered 
around  him  are  pleasant  verdure  to  his  eyes,  refreshing  them 
after  the  scorching  heat  of  battle ;  the  wailing  of  the  wid- 
owed for  the  dead,  the  moaning  of  the  bereaved  for  lost 
friends  and  kindred,  are  dulcet  sounds  that  thrill  sweetly 
upon  his  ears  ;  all — all  the  visions  that  can  give  hope  and 
inspiration  to  the  warlike  soul,  diffuse  themselves  through  the 
soul  of  Yusef  Badra.  Yet  he  wakes  to  find  himself  without 
a  foe  ;  his  very  soul  thirsting  for  blood,  he  finds  but  a  das- 


THE  GRAND  SECRET  OF  HUMAN  HAPPINESS.       291 

tardly  muleteer  to  chastise  for  thei't  or  laziness  !  Fain  would 
he  plunge  his  sword  through  the  miserable  dog  ;  tear  out  his 
bowels,  and  fling  them  to  the  crows ;  but  the  baggage  of  the 
Howadji  must  go  on ;  it  won't  do  to  gut  the  wretches  yet 
awhile.  I'll  gut  them  at  the  end  of  the  journey  ;  by  Eblis, 
sir,  I'll  do  it  in  Jerusalem  !  yea,  0  General !  I  can't  wait 
even  so  long  as  that !  I'll  do  it  in  Nazareth !  No,  by  heav- 
ens !  I  can't  wait  till  then.  I'll  gut  'em  in  Tiberias  !  Two 
days  from  this  date  I'll — what  ?  wait  two  days  ?  Nay ;  by 
all  the  glories  of  war !  I'll  do  it  at  Malaha — the  very  first 
stopping-place  we  come  to.  I'll  rip  them  open  from  head  to 
foot !  I'll  cast  their  entrails  out  over  the  house-tops,  to  be 
devoured  by  birds  and  beasts  of  prey  !  I'll  drink  their  blood 
to  cool  the  fever  of  courage  and  defiance  that  forever  burns 
within  me  !  I'll  do  it  at  Malaha!  nay,  by  all  the  horrid  lux- 
uries of  murder,  I'll  gut  'em  NOW — this  very  moment — Ho  ! 
Mustapha !  Yakob  !" 

GENERAL  (seizing  Yusef's  horse  by  the  bridle). — "  Hold, 
Yusef,  hold !  Are  you  mad  ?  In  the  name  of  humanity,  don't 
commit  such  an  outrage  as  that.  Calm  yourself,  Yusef — calm 
yourself.  Now,  I  beg  you,  as  a  friend,  not  to  shed  the  blood 
of  innocent  men.  We  may  meet  some  robbers  before  long, 
and  if  we  do,  I  promise  you,  on  my  honor,  I  shall  not  strike  a 
blow  ;  I'll  get  behind  you,  and  you  may  slay  them  all  single- 
handed." 

YUSEF  (foaming). — "I'll  do  it,  General;  I'll  do  it.  What? 
only  single-handed  ?  Is  that  all  the  odds  your  Excellency  in- 
tends to  give  them?  Tie  my  hands,  sir — tie  my  hands  behind 
my  back  !  I'll  fight  the  rascals  without  hands  !  Come  on, 
sir  !  come  on  !  By  heavens  !  I  think  I  see  some  now  behind 
that  rock  !  So— ho-o,  Sulemin,  So— o-ho ;  gently,  my  boy, 
gently — So-ho !" 

GENERAL  (getting  behind  Yusef). — "  Verily,  I  do  believe 
they  are  robbers.  Now,  don't  sacrifice  yourself,  Yusef!  Be 
calm  ;  be  deliberate.  Take  good  aim  when  you  shoot ;  aim 
at  their  heads.  Remember  my  life  is  in  your  keeping." 

Hitherto  Yusef  had  evinced  his  excitement  by  turning  very 
red  in  the  face ;  he  now  evinced  it  by  turning  very  pale,  on 


292  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

account  of  the  intense  character  of  the  pleasure  he  experienced 
in  catching  a  glimpse  of  two  muffled  figures,  crouching  behind 
a  rock  on  the  road-side.  But,  somehow,  Syed  Sulemin,  usual 
ly  so  docile  and  obedient,  began  to  cut  an  extraordinary  num 
ber  of  flourishes,  and  actually  refused  to  proceed  a  step  further 
Saladm,  inspired  by  the  capering  of  his  rival,  and  supposing 
that  it  was  preparatory  to  a  race,  dashed  off  without  further 
notice,  and  in  a  few  moments  was  close  up  to  the  rock.  The 
figures  rose  ;  there  were  four.  They  were  not  robbers ;  they 
were  only  two  Bedouin  women,  an  old  man,  and  a  donkey, 
resting  with  a  sack  of  wheat,  on  their  way  to  the  mill.  I 
had  scarcely  noted  these  facts,  when  Syed  Sulemin  came  thun- 
dering up  with  Yusef,  who  had  drawn  his  pistols,  and  was 
ready  for  slaughter. 

YUSEF. — "  Where  are  the  wretches  ?  Let  me  at  'em  ! 
Pooh !  only  two  women !  only  one  old  man !  only  a  miser- 
able ass  !  Corne  on,  sir  !  come  on  !  We'll  find  better  game 
than  that  before  long." 

GENERAL. — "  I  sincerely  hope  not.  Certainly,  if  we  again 
discover  human  game,  I  shall  dismount  from  Saladin,  and  let 
him  proceed  alone.  On  the  whole,  I  think  we  are  rather 
fortunate  in  not  finding  robbers  on  this  occasion/' 

YUSEF. — "  But  the  delight — the  glory  of  the  thing  !  The 
exquisite  satisfaction  of  shedding  blood.  On,  Sulemin,  on. 
By  heavens  !  if  there's  a  robber  within  ten  miles,  we'll  have 
him !" 

GENERAL  (seizing  Yusef 's  bridle  again). — "  Now,  I  protest 
against  this  insane  courage,  Yusef;  this  flying  in  the  face  of 
Providence.  Take  it  easy — take  it  easy.  The  very  philos- 
ophy of  life  is  to  be  content  with  what  you've  got.  If  you 
have  friends  instead  of  enemies  around  you,  it  is  the  will  of 
Allah.  Smoke  the  pipe  of  content.  Be  assured,  good  and  evil 
fortune  enough  will  come  in  due  time ;  don't  make  yourself 
unhappy  by  bad  dreams  and  sanguinary  hopes.  Bask  in  the 
sunshine  of  peace,  while  it  lasts;  cease  that  constant  chafing 
for  human  blood.  Sleep  while  you  can  sleep,  and  smoke  while 
you  can  smoke.  Depend  upon  it,  there  is  no  happiness  in 
steaming  it  through  the  world  this  way ;  living  at  a  railroad 


THE  GRAND  SECRET  OF  HUMAN  HAPPINESS.       293 

;  wearing  yourself  out  with  internal  fires  ;  besides  run- 
ning the  danger  of  bursting  up,  by  destroying  the  escape-pipe 
of  your  courage.  Take  it  easy,  Yusef — that's  the  true  philos 
ophy  of  life." 

YUSEF  j[a  little  confused). — "  But  what  is  ease  ?  A  sitting 
hen  takes  it  easy ;  it's  her  business — she  likes  it ;  she  has'a 
natural  propensity  for  sitting.  A  mud-turtle  basks  in  the 
sun  ;  it  suits  him  ;  he  feels  comfortable  ;  he  doesn't  like  run- 
ning ;  his  legs  are  too  short.  A  snail  travels  slowly  ;  he's  a 
slow  coach ;  he  takes  it  easy,  because  he  can't  take  it  fast ; 
he  carries  his  house  on  his  back,  and  jt  makes  no  difference 
where  he  goes  or  how  long  it  takes  him  ;  he's  always  at  home. 
But,  do  you  think,  0  General,  that  I,  Yusef  Badra,  renowned 
in  history  and  in  song  throughout  Syria,  could  take  it  easy  if 
I  were  alone  upon  a  desert,  with  six  armed  Bedouins  bearing 
down  upon  me  ?" 

GENERAL  (thoughtfully). — "Why,  no,  Yusef — I  don't  see 
that  you  could  well  take  it  easy  under  those  circumstances. 
In  fact  I  rather  think  you'd  take  it  fast.  I'm  tolerably  cer- 
tain that  I  would  where  the  odds  were  so  great  against  me. 
This  is  an  extreme  case,  however." 

YUSEF  (proudly). — "  That's  the  beauty  of  it — there's  where 
the  principle  lies.  I  couldn't  stand  it,  you  see.  If  there 
was  only  one  Bedouin,  I  might  sit  still,  and  let  him  strike 
me  the  first  blow,  for  pastime  ;  but  six  ! — six  to  one  !  No, 
sir,  I  couldn't  take  it  easy  in  the  common  sense — I'd  have 
to  kill  'em ;  rip  'em  up,  gut  'em,  scatter  their  brains  on  the 
four  winds  of  heaven :  Every  man  takes  his  ease  in  a  dif- 
ferent way,  according  to  his  capacity,  inclination,  or  courage. 
The  coward  takes  his  ease  in  peace ;  the  brave  man  in  war. 
My  ease  lies  in  blood — human  blood,  sir.  "When  I  wallow 
in  it,  I  feel  comfortable  and  happy — I'm  perfectly  easy  then, 
only  I  want  more — that's  the  only  difficulty  ;  I  always  want 
more  ;  if  it  wasn't  for  that  I'd  be  the  happiest  man  living." 

GENERAL. — "  Certainly  a  very  unfortunate  propensity,  as 
regards  its  operation  upon  the  rest  of  mankind.  Happily,  we 
are  differently  organized,  as  you  say ;  for  if  we  all  took  our 
ease  in  killing,  the  world  would  be  pretty  easy  before  long.'' 


294  A  CIIUSADE  IN  THE    EAST. 

YUSEF. — "  That's  the  beauty  of  it — the  very  principle  of 
existence  !  A  Turk  takes  his  ease  in  smoke ;  a  Frenchman 
in  dancing  ;  a  German  in  beer,  talk,  and  pipes';  an  English 
min  in  beefsteak ;  an  American — pardon  me,  0  General,  1 
mean  no  disrespect  in  referring  to  your  own  words — an 
American  in  being  uneasy.  When  he  is  uneasy  he  is  easy, 
and  when  he  is  easy  he  is  uneasy." 

GENERAL  (puzzled). — "  Really.  Yusef,  I  hardly  know  which 
side  of  the  question  you  have  placed  me  upon  now.  We 
seem  to  agree,  and  yet  we  don't  agree — no — we  differ  and — 
I  don't  know  !  that's  not  right.  One  of  us  must  be  wrong 
— there's  a  mistake  somewhere." 

YUSEF. — "  Your  Excellency  is  wrong." 

GENERAL. — "  Upon  my  word,  it  seems  so ;  though  I'm 
certain  I  started  right.  The  fact  is,  Yusef,  we  must  come  to 
a  compromise,  and  allow  that  there's  right  and  wrong  on 
both  sides.  All  nations  have  their  merits  and  their  faults  ; 
there  is  good  every  where,  if  mankind  would  only  profit  by 
it.  Extremes  of  laziness,  or  of  restless  ambition,  are  alike 
inimical  to  happiness.  The  whole  universe  is  founded  upon 
compromise  ;  the  harmonies  of  nature  are  compromises. 
Every  tree  and  flower  that  springs  from  the  earth  yields  its 
verdure  or  its  fragrance  by  compromise  with  the  elements. 
Life  is  a  compromise ;  society,  government,  nations — all  are 
compromises ;  and  they  who  base  their  conduct  upon  an  ad- 
herence to  the  lessons  taught  by  the  harmonies  of  nature,  are 
most  apt  to  enjoy  what  we  call  happiness  in  this  world." 

YUSEF  (enthusiastically). — "  Most  sublime  and  beloved 
General !  Verily,  that  last  touch  of  eloquence  hath  aroused 
my  inmost  soul !  I  am  intensely  enlightened  and  inspired  by 
this  discourse  !  By  all  the  compromises  !  by  all  the  haimo- 
nies  of  existence,  I  swear  that  this  moment  I  could  slay 
Hassin  the  Dragon-killer.  I  could  devour  the  seven-headed 
Dragon,  and  wallow  in  the  blood  of  Rabadab,  the  four-handed 
Giant !  Nay,  by  all  the  ghosts  of  the  gory  dead — " 

GENERAL  (alarmed). — "  Be  calm,  Yusef!  be  calm.  Corn- 
pose  yourself!  It  was  not  my  intention,  in  speaking  thus, 
to  arouse  you  in  that  frightful  manner.  Suppress  those 


THE  GRAND  SECRE1  OF  HUMAN  HAPPINESS.       29£ 

dreadful  thoughts,  I  beseech  you,  and  tell  me  what  object 
that  is  in  the  distance.  There  !  don't  you  see  something  like 
a  stone  box  ?" 

YUSEF. — "  I  do,  most  certainly.  That,  your  excellency,  is 
not  a  stone  box,  but  a  mill— the  famous  Mill  of  Malaha — 
where  this  night  you  shall  sleep  soundly,  or  my  name's  not 
Badra,  the  Destroyer  of  Robbers  !" 

From  all  I  had  heard  respecting  the  accommodations  of 
the  mill,  I  naturally  supposed  that  it  was  an  extensive  estab- 
lishment kept  by  some  wealthy  miller,  who,  for  the  purpose 
of  enjoying  society  in  this  remote  region,  had  built  an  addition 
to  it,  where  he  entertained  travelers  of  distinction,  and  per- 
haps furnished  them  with  choice  bread  and  wine  of  his  own 
manufacture.  I  need  not  say  that  I  was  a  little  disappointed 
when  we  rode  up  and  took  a  general  survey  of  the  premises. 
But  as  this  again  is  an  important  matter,  involving  adven- 
tures of  a  very  stirring  character,  I  must  reserve  it  for  another 
chapter. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

*    THE    MILL    OF    MALAHA. 

I  WISH  it  to  be  distinctly  understood  that  I  entertain  no 
vindictive  or  revengeful  feelings  toward  any  body  on  account 
of  the  disappointment  I  experienced  in  the  first  view  of  the 
Mill  of  Malaha.  To  be  candid,  it  arose  partly  from  a  cred- 
ulous faith  in  every  thing  that  the  Arabs  told  me,  however 
wonderful,  and  partly  from  a  natural  disposition  to  invest 
every  thing  with  the  charms  of  romance.  Notwithstanding 
the  practical  sense  of  my  companions,  who  believed  nothing 
at  all  that  was  not  in  print,  and  who  were  continually  pro- 
ducing authorities  on  every  doubtful  point,  I  secretly  swal- 
lowed every  thing  miraculous,  and  filled  up  all  the  obscure 
parts  with  glowing  anticipations,  that  were  doomed  never  to 
be  realized.  Even  at  the  time,  I  often  suspected  that  such 
things  were  only  to  be  found  in  the  Arabian  Nights  ;  but 
somehow  I  could  not  help  thinking  they  might  turn  out  to 
be  true,  and  on  that  hope  hung  an  immense  amount  of  an- 
ticipation. Bearing  in  mind,  however,  that  my  mission  was 
of  a  practical  character,  I  was  always  ready  to  admit  the 
facts  in  the  end,  and  to  denounce  the  Arabs  for  their  extrav- 
agant indulgence  in  hyperbole,  as  also  to  expose  the  fallacies 
of  all  travelers  who  make  a  practice  of  investing  common- 
place realities  with  the  glowing  absurdities  of  fiction.  It 
may  be  set  down  as  a  rule  that  when  a  writer  on  Oriental 
life  tells  you  what  a  pleasant  thing  it  is  not  to  be  civilized ; 
when  he  even  professes  to  have  some  savage  propensities  in 
his  nature,  and  has  an  unconquerable  desire  to  be  a  wander- 
ing Ishmaelite,  there  must  be  something  wrong  in  the  man. 
Either  he  is  making  a  book  to  be  read  by  a  public  that  con- 
tinually thirsts  for  something  strange  and  new,  or  wishes 


THE  MILL  OF  MALAHA.  297 

himself  to  appear  in  the  light  of  a  dark-minded,  restless,  un- 
happy man,  so  high  ahove  all  the  conventionalities  of  society, 
that  to  be  a  savage  is  the  only  condition  really  worthy  of 
him ;  or,  worse  than  all,  there  is  so  little  of  the  genial  and 
kind  in  his  nature  that  he  finds  few  to  love  him  at  home, 
finds  fault  with  others  for  what  he  owes  to  himself,  and  be- 
comes smitten  with  a  morbid  contempt  for  civilization.  It 
reads  very  prettily,  all  this — especially  if  it  be  cleverly  done. 
But  let  me  tell  you,  my  friends,  there  is  a  dreary,  common- 
place, comfortless  reality  about  Arab  life,  with  all  its  bar- 
barous romance ;  a  beggarly  vagabondism  that  is  entirely 
unworthy  of  being  aspired  to  by  any  person  of  good  principles 
or  common  sense  ;  a  bestiality  that  must  make  any  one  who 
has  a  respectable  home  turn  to  it  with  a  grateful  heart  and 
an  inward  thankfulness  that  he  was  born  in  a  tolerably  de- 
cent country,  and  among  a  people,  who,  with  all  their  aflecta- 
tions^nd  absurdities,  are  yet  something  better  than  savages. 
And  now  for  the  Mill.  Behold  it,  as  we  wind  down  the 
rugged  pathway  toward  the  stream  of  Malaha — a  little 
square  stone  building,  half  in  ruins,  with  a  flat  top,  perched 
over  the  water  among  the  rocks,  a  camel  browsing  on  the 
bushes  near  it,  and  a  dozen  lazy  Arabs  squatted  down  by 
the  door  smoking  their  chiboucks.  That  single  glance  was 
enough.  Every  thought  of  the  hospitable  old  gentleman  and 
his  accomplished  daughters ;  the  flower-gardens,  the  choice 
home-made  bread  and  sparkling  wines  of  Lebanon,  vanished 
in  a  moment.  I  said  nothing ;  but  rode  quietly  up  to  the 
door,  where,  with  a  misgiving  of  the  sequel,  I  resigned  my 
horse  to  the  muleteers,  and  saw  him,  together  with  the  horses 
of  my  companions,  led  ofTto  a  cave  in  the  neighboring  mount- 
ains. A  very  animated  conversation  now  took  place  be- 
tween our  dragoman  and  the  Arabs.  The  chief  talker,  a 
rugged  ill-favored  man,  whose  dark  leathern  skin  looked 
darker  still  from  the  fact  that  his  beard  and  eyebrows  were 
covered  with  meal,  was  no  other  than  the  old  miller  himself, 
and  the  others  were  Bedouins  who  had  come  over  from  an 
encampment  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  stream.  As  well  as 
I  could  catch  the  drift  of  the  conversation  from  Yusef 's  man 

N* 


298  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

ner  and  gestures,  which  I  had  now  learned  to  interpret  with 
considerable  accuracy,  it  appeared  to  he  this  :  that  we,  a  trav- 
eling party,  consisting  of  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  all  the 
military  forces  in  America,  a  royal  prince,  son  of  the  King 
of  the  United  States,  and  an  English  Lord,  whose  palace  at 
home  was  built  of  pure  gold,  wanted  lodging  for  the  night 
in  the  far-famed  Mill  of  Malaha,  of  which  we  had  read 
in  ancient  and  modern  history,  and  whose  proprietor  we  had 
always  regarded  as  the  sublimest  miller  that  ever  the  world 
had  produced.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  urged  by  the  mil- 
ler that  he  was  a  devout  Mussulman,  and  would  never  con- 
sent to  having  his  mill  denied  by  the  presence  of  a  party  of 
infidels,  who  were  at  best  not  fit  to  kiss  the  smallest  toe  of 
the  great  'Prophet ;  that  should  he  suffer  us  to  sleep  there,  ho 
would  never  more  have  a  particle  of  luck,  and  ten  chances 
to  one  the  grindstones  would  fly  in  his  face  and  kill  him  stone 
dead,  or  the  mill  itself  would  tumble  down  upon  him  after  we 
had  left,  and  make  minced  meat  of  himself  and  all  his  fam- 
ily. To  which,  as  I  took  it,  Yusef  replied  that,  praised  be 
Allah,  we  were  convinced  of  the  errors  of  our  ways,  and  were 
on  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem,  where  there  was  no  earthly 
doubt  we  would  join  the  standard  of  the  Prophet  in  less  than 
a  month ;  and  that,  besides,  being  royal  personages  of  bound- 
less wealth,  we  would  cheerfully  pay  as  high  as  three  pias- 
ters each  (twelve  and  a  half  cents)  for  the  accommodation  of 
his  establishment,  together  with  a  liberal  backshish  in  tho 
morning.  In  reply  to  which,  the  miller,  with  glistening  eyes, 
stated  that  he  was  not  that  narrow-minded  sort  of  person  who 
could  from  any  religious  prejudices  be  guilty  of  so  inhospit- 
able an  act  as  to  turn  from  his  doors  a  party  of  distinguished 
Howadji;  that  he  always  regarded  the  Americans  and  En- 
glish as  the  most  liberal  and  enlightened  people  in  the  world, 
next  to  the  Arabs,  and  upon  the  assurance  of  five  piasters  each 
and  such  backshish  as  we  deemed  consistent  with  our  rank 
and  dignity,  he  would  cheerfully  consent  to  having  the  mill 
honored  with  our  presence.  Keeping  in  view  his  own  inter- 
ests, Yusef  made  answer  to  this  by  saying  that  he,  being  our 
-ostensible  agent  in  all  pecuniary  matters,  deemed  it  incum- 


THE  MILL  OF  MALAHA.  299 

bent  upon  hirr.  as  a  man  of  honor,  known  throughout  Syria, 
and  even  to  the  remotest  corners  of  England  and  America,  as 
a  dragoman,  who  never  lied  or  took  advantage  of  the  liberality 
of  his  employers,  to  pay  just  and  reasonable  prices  for  every 
thing,  and  that  he  could  not  reconcile  it  to  a  sense  of  duty  to 
pay  more  than  four  piasters ;  but  that  he  had  not  the  slight- 
est doubt  that  the  backshish  would  amount  to  treble  that 
sum.  At  this  the  miller  shook  his  head  dismally,  grunted  a 
few  words  of  doubt,  which  I  interpreted  to  signify  that  he 
had  become  rather  accustomed  to  promises  of  that  kind ;  then 
puffed  his  chibouck  awhile,  and  ended  by  waving  his  hand 
for  us  to  enter.  By  this  time  it  had  begun  to  rain,  and  we 
were  glad  enough  to  find  shelter. 

If  the  external  appearance  of  the  mill  was  disheartening, 
the  interior  was  absolutely  dramatic  and  inspiring.  Stables  1 
had  slept  in ;  caves,  haystacks,  trees,  and  the  broad  canopy 
of  heaven  had  afforded  me  lodgings  in  cases  of  emergency ; 
but  I  had  seen  nothing  half  so  strange  or  curious  in  the  way 
of  accommodations  for  a  night's  rest  as  the  mill  of  Malaha. 
It  was  just  high  enough  to  stand  up  in  where  the  arches  that 
supported  the  roof  ran  up  to  a  point ;  but  these  arches  being 
very  rough  and  irregular,  and  the  ground,  consisting  chiefly 
of  holes,  it  was  necessary  to  crawl  into  the  dark  recesses  on 
*»ur  hands  and  feet.  The  water  made  a  tremendous  rush  un- 
derneath ;  and,  looking  through  the  broken  parts  of  the  floor, 
there  was  every  prospect  of  tumbling  through  during  the 
night,  and  being  carried  down  among  the  wheels,  and  after- 
ward deposited  in, the  lake  of  El  Huleh.  Following  Yusef, 
who  carried  a  dim  lamp  in  his  hand,  we  narrowly  escaped 
being  ground  to  pieces  by  two  grindstones,  which  flew  round 
continually  at  a  tremendous  rate,  without  any  covering  over 
them  ;  and  in  the  course  of  time  having  worked  our  way  over 
several  holes  and  through  a  good  many  puddles  of  foul  water, 
we  found  ourselves  on  a  sort  of  elevation  about  a  foot  high, 
close  by  the  grindstones  again,  where  we  learned  that  we  were 
to  spend  the  night.  The  dust  and  chafi\  together  with  the 
intense  darkness  notwithstanding  the  lamp,  and  a  thick 
cloud  of  smoke  from  a  crowd  of  Arabs,  hid  away  somewhere 


300  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

in  the  obscurity,  afforded  me  reasonable  grounds  for  thinking 
that  if  any  one  of  us  ever  lived  to  see  daylight  again,  it  would 
only  be  through  the  intervention  of  Providence  :  certainly 
there  was  nothing  here  to  encourage  such  a  hope. 

The  ground  being  somewhat  soft,  I  had  the  curiosity  to  feel 
it,  and  then  take  up  a  handful  and  smell  it ;  by  which  means 
I  became  sensible  of  the  fact  that  it  consisted  of  a  very  rich 
deposit  of  manure.  However,  having  a  couple  of  mattresses, 
we  spread  them  over  it,  and  found  that  it  made  a  very  warm 
bed,  although  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  points  of  rock 
which  came  through  it  did  not  produce  an  agreeable  sensation 
when  they  came  in  contact  with  our  ribs. 

"  A  stunning  place,  this,"  said  the  English  captain,  good- 
humoredly.  "  Upon  my  word,  I  think  we'll  have  a  jolly 
time  of  it  to-night." 

"  Yes ;  very  jolly :  the  fleas  are  getting  lively  already," 
eaid  the  tall  Southerner,  scratching  himself  fiercely. 

"Coffee!"  said  I;  "coffee,  Yusef.  Gentlemen,  I  hold  it 
as  a  principle  that  coffee  is  an  elixir  for  all  the  ills  that  flesh 
is  heir  to,  provided  it  be  sweetened  with  the  sugar  of — " 

"  Lead,"  suggested  the  captain. 

"  No,  sir  ;  the  sugar  of  content.  Coffee  expands  the  soul, 
warms  the  imagination ;  sends  a  cheerful  glow  throughout 
the  entire  man  after  the  toils  of  travel,  and  acts  as  nature^ 
balmy  restorer,  when  sleep  is  banished  by  fortuitous  circum- 
stances, or  by — " 

"  Fleas,"  said  the  captain,  suddenly  starting,  as  if  stung  by 
a  wasp.  "  What  an  abominable  nuisance  they  are !  I'll 
venture  to  assert  that  they  are  as  large  here  as  humble-bees. 
Never  felt  any  thing  like  them  in  my  life  !  Stunning,  quite 
stunning,  I  assure  you  !" 

There  was  no  doubt  of  it.  I  began  to  feel  them  myself, 
though  I  had  always  boasted  of  being  proof  against  such  petty 
annoyances.  They  actually  began  to  pierce  like  a  thousand 
needles.  Sometimes  they  pierced  like  cambric  needles,  and 
sometimes  like  large  sail-needles  ;  and  very  often  they  pierced 
like  all  the  needles  that  ever  were  manufactured,  put  together 
in  assorted  bunches.  While  Yusef  and  Francisco  were  absent 


THE  MILL  OP  MALAHA.  301 

boiling  the  coffee  outside  of  the  mill,  and  getting  supper  ready, 
we  entertained  ourselves  scratching  a  trio,  and  jumping  now 
and  then  nearly  out  of  our  skins  in  the  most  desperate  efforts 
to  shake  off  the  vermin. 

Presently  supper  appeared  ;  and,  I  say  it  in  justice  to  our 
dragoman,  a  most  excellent  supper  it  was.  He  was  a  capital 
cook  and  caterer,  and  fed  us  like  princes,  as  he  always  repre- 
sented us  to  be.  The  Arabs  crept  around  us  out  of  holes  in 
the  walls  and  dark  corners,  and  while  we  ate  they  looked*  on 
with  greedy  and  longing  eyes,  and  said  a  great  deal  on  the 
subject  which  we  could  not  comprehend.  They  seemed  very 
lean  and  hungry,  and  talked  rapidly  as  each  mouthful  disap- 
peared. It  was  evident  that  they  built  some  hopes  upon 
coming  in  at  the  end  of  the  feast.  We  told  Yusef  to  give 
them  something  to  eat,  which  he  did ;  when,  feeling  very 
happy  and  comfortable,  we  had  our  chiboucks  lit,  and  smoked 
our  Latakia  tobacco  in  great  state,  as  became  persons  of  royal 
dignity. 

I  gradually  dropped  off  into  a  doze,  a  mere  doze,  for  I  scorn 
the  charge  of  having  slept  a  wink  that  night.  The  grating 
of  the  grindstones,  the  everlasting  clatter  of  tongues,  the  dust, 
chafF,  smoke,  and  fleas,  to  say  nothing  of  the  roar  of  the  wa- 
ter down  below,  were  enough  to  banish  all  hope  of  sleep ;  I 
merely  closed  my  eyes  to  try  how  ridiculous  it  would  feel. 
How  long  they  remained  closed  I  scarcely  know  ;  it  was  riot 
long,  however,  for  I  soon  heard  a  heavy  breathing  close  by 
my  h6ad,  and  felt  the  warm  breath  of  some  monster  on  my 
face.  I  knew  it  to  be  no  Arab ;  it  blew  and  snuffed  alto- 
gether unlike  any  thing  of  the  human  kind.  Thinking  it 
might  be  all  fancy,  I  cautiously  put  out  my  hand  in  the  dark 
(Yusef  having  carried  the  lamp  away),  and  began  to  feel 
around  me.  For  some  moments  I  could  discover  nothing, 
but  in  waving  my  hand  around  I  at  length  touched  something 
— something  that  sent  the  blood  flying  back  to  my  heart  a 
good  deal  quicker  than  it  ever  flew  before.  To  tell  the  hon- 
est truth,  I  never  was  so  startled  in  all  the  previous  advent- 
ures of  my  life.  The  substance  that  I  put  my  hand  on  waa 
bare  and  warm  :  it  was  wet  also  and  slimy,  and  had  large 


302  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

nostrils  with  which  it  seemed  to  be  in  the  act  of  smelling  me 
previous  to  the  act  of  mastication.  "With  the  quickness  of 
lightning  I  jerked  up  my  hand,  and  felt  it  glide  along  a  skin 
covered  with  long  rough  hair  ;  the  next  instant  my  ears  were 
stunned  by  the  most  dreadful  noises,  which  resembled,  as  1 
thought  in  the  horror  of  the  moment,  the  roaring  of  a  full- 
grown  lion.  But  it  was  not  the  roaring  of  a  lion  ;  it  was 
only  the  braying  of  an  ass.  The  monster  was  a  Syrian  ass^. 
Th'ere  were  two  of  them,  and  they  both  began  to  bray ;  they 
brayed  in  concert ;  and  I  declare  in  all  sincerity,  it  was  the 
most  intolerable  concert  I  ever  heard.  Had  it  been  a  lion,  the 
consequences  might  have  been  serious  to  the  whole  party,  as 
well  as  to  the  animal  himself,  for  I  should  certainly  have 
called  upon  Yusef  to  bring  out  his  pistols  and  guns,  in  which 
event  there  is  not  the  least  doubt  that  some  of  us  would  have 
fallen  victims  to  the  conflicting  wrath  of  the  rival  lions. 

Oh,  Lamartine  !  Alphonse  de  Lamartine  !  if  thou  couldst 
have  witnessed  our  sufferings  on  that  occasion,  I'm  certain 
thy  tender  eyes  would  have  shed  floods  of  briny  tears  !  In 
thy  weeping  Pilgrimage  thou  didst  weep  for  the  past,  the 
present,  and  the  future  ;  for  the  great  and  the  little  ;  for  the 
happy  and  the  wretched ;  for  the  birds  of  the  air  and  the 
beasts  of  the  field ;  for  the  great  leviathan  of  the  deep  and 
the  smallest  creeping  thing  earthly.  Thou  didst  weep  when 
thou  wert  happy  and  when  thou  wert  sad ;  when  thy  heart 
was  full  arid  thy  tongue  refused  its  office  ;  and  when  thy 
tongue  spake  and  thy  heart  in  turn  was  sealed  with  sorrow  ; 
thou  didst  weep  that  the  land  was  stricken  with  ruin,  and 
thou  didst  weep  that  the  ruin  was  sublime — that  thou  wert 
gifted  with  the  power  to  weep,  and  that  there  was  cause  to 
weep — that  mankind  was  wicked  and  Alphonse  de  Lamartine 
the  only  living  mourner  in  the  land  of  desolation ;  that  the 
little  wren  was  happy  and  the  Great  Philosopher  miserable ; 
that  the  Great  Philosopher  was  a  Poet,  and  the  little  wren 
neither  a  poet  nor  a  philosopher  but  a  simple  wren.  Thou 
didst  weep  from  the  beginning  unto  the  end  of  thy  Pilgrimage  ; 
thou  wert  born  with  tears  in  thine  eyes,  and  thou  hast  shed 
them  copiously  unto  the  present  day  ;  wherever  thou  hast 


304  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

roamed,  thy  footsteps  are  marked  in  tear-drops ;  thy  whol& 
life  has  been  a  constant  overflow  of  tears ;  thy  lachrymal 
ducts  have  never  yet  been  dry,  and  never  will,  until  the  tear- 
bags  within  are  withered  up  in  dust ;  nay,  even  then  thou 
wilt  start  new  floods  from  that  feeling  heart,  and  weep  that 
the  world  hath  lost  a  Poet  and  a  Philosopher.  Wherefore,  I 
— a  simple  General  in  the  Bobtail  Militia,  following  in  thy 
footsteps  on  a  Crusade  against  the  Mists  of  Fancy — do  venture 
to  assert  that  hadst  thou  seen  us  in  this  old  mill,  beset  by 
fleas,  donkeys,  and  filthy  Arabs,  thou  wouldst  have  opened 
thy  flood-gates  of  sympathy  and  refreshed  us  with  balmy  sighs 
and  copious  showers  of  gentle  tears. 

Now,  as  long  as  our  grievances  were  confined  to  vermin, 
dirt,  and  noisy  Arabs,  we  bore  them  very  cheerfully,  and 
even  admitted  that  little  afflictions  of  that  kind  add  materi- 
ally to  the  spice  of  travel ;  but  when  it  came  to  making  asses 
of  us  by  placing  us  on  a  par  with  such  animals,  it  was  alto- 
gether too  much  to  be  borne.  I  had  often  heard  that  travel- 
ing makes  one  acquainted  with  strange  bed-fellows,  but  in  all 
my  previous  experience  I  had  never  been  subjected  to  the  mor- 
tification of  sleeping  in  the  same  bed  with  two  genuine  asses. 

"  What,"  said  I,  fired  with  honest  indignation,  "  are  we  to 
stand  this  ?  Breathes  there  a  man  with  soul  so  dead  that 
he'll  voluntarily  sleep  with  a  pair  of  vile  asses  ?" 

"Ho,  Yusef!"  cried  the  Captain,  "we'll  be  ass-assinated 
if  you  don't  turn  these  abominable  beasts  out.  We  are  in 
danger  of  being  devoured  bodily." 

Yusef  declared  that  he  was  very  sorry,  but  it  was  a  Moham- 
medan custom  to  show  great  tenderness  and  respect  to  ani- 
mals of  the  brute  kind ;  he  would  ask  the  miller  to  put  the 
asses  out,  but  could  not  insist  upon  it  as  a  matter  of  right. 
Another  exciting  conversation  now  took  place  in  which  all 
the  Arabs  participated.  Yusef  stormed,  threatened,  and 
swore  ;  the  old  miller  protested,  remonstrated,  and  finally  de- 
clared that  he  could  not  be  guilty  of  any  thing  so  inhuman ; 
that  he  would  sooner  drive  out  of  his  house  on  a  rainy  night 
the  brother  of  his  affections  than  the  asses  of  his  heart ;  so,  to 
make  peace,  the  asses  of  his  heart  were  suffered  to  remain. 


THE  MILL  OF  MALAHA.  30i> 

I  will  not  undertake  to  describe  how  we  spent  the  rest  of 
that  memorable  night :  how  the  grindstones  came  within  an 
inch  of  grinding  us  to  death  every  time  we  stretched  our  legs 
out ;  how  in  attempting  to  escape  from  the  furious  attacks  of 
the  fleas  we  got  ourselves  involved  under  the  hoofs  of  the 
asses;  how  the  old  miller  stopped  smoking  about  midnight, 
and  by  the  united  assistance  of  all  his  Arabs  succeeded  in  the 
course  of  two  hours  in  getting  his  mill  stopped ;  how  every 
one  of  them  talked  all  the  rest  of  the  night,  and  went  to  sleep 
about  daylight ;  and  how  we  got  up  at  the  same  time  and 
made  a  vow  never  again  to  stop  at  the  Mill  of  Malaha. 

At  sunrise  we  were  mounted,  and  on  our  way  toward  the 
Sea  of  Galilee. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

THE    REBEL    SHEIK. 

OCR  road  this  morning  lay  along  the  base  of  Jebel  Egil, 
on  the  right  side  of  the  valley  El  Huleh,  as  we  faced  toward 
Tiberias.  We  met  several  caravans  of  camels  and  mules, 
and  passed  numerous  herds  of  cattle  and  a  few  Bedouin  vil- 
lages. The  weather  was  mild  and  pleasant,  with  a  slight 
sprinkle  of  rain  during  the  forenoon.  On  the  ridge  dividing 
the  valley  of  El  Huleh  from  Lake  Tiberias,  or  the  Sea  of 
Galilee,  we  had  a  fine  view  of  both  lakes,  the  one  lying 
in  the  broad  plain  through  which  we  had  passed,  gleaming 
brightly  through  a  mass  of  verdure ;  the  other,  famed  as  the 
sacred  waters  of  Galilee,  almost  encircled  by  barren  mount- 
ains, dim  in  the  haze,  and  still  and  desolate  as  it  lay  out- 
spread before  us  in  the  noonday  sun.  Far  and  near,  which 
ever  way  we  looked,  the  mountains  were  blanched  with  the 
scorching  heat  of  summer  ;  and  all  the  rains  of  autumn  were 
still  swallowed  by  the  thirsty  earth,  and  still  there  was  the 
same  dreary  waste  of  whitish  stones  and  sodlcss  heights ; 
dreary  and  shadowless,  yet  rich  beyond  all  that  earth  could 
yield  in  the  history  of  Him  who  had  stilled  the  tempest  and 
walked  upon  the  waters. 

As  we  wound  our  way  among  the  barren  rocks  we  saw  sev- 
eral Arabs  skulking  about  the  clifls,  armed  with  long  guns, 
and  apparently  watching  our  motions  with  keen  interest. 
By  certain  signs  they  seemed  to  communicate  with  others  in 
advance  ;  and  now  and  then,  when  they  thought  we  were 
not  looking,  they  disappeared  and  ran  along  on  the  other 
side  of  the  ridge,  so  as  to  keep  pace  with  us.  Our  dragoman 
looked  uncommonly  anxious  and  downcast,  which  made  me 
think  he  was  very  much  afraid  that  some  of  these  suspicious 
vagabonds  would  get  away  before  he  could  get  a  good  chance 


THE  REBEL  SHEIK.  307 

to  shoot  them.  On  this  account,  as  I  supposed,  he  kept  very 
close  to  us,  we  being  altogether  unarmed,  so  as  to  be  on  the 
spot  when  the  attack  commenced,  and  at  the  same  time  af- 
ford us  protection  with  his  courage  and  fire-arms. 

But  it  seemed  as  if  we  were  doomed  never  to  enjoy  a  good 
adventure  in  the  way  of  an  attack  from  the  Arabs.  No  mat- 
ter how  fervently  we  wished  to  be  robbed  (having  only  a 
trifle  of  small  change  about  us),  I  verily  believe  had  we  hung 
bags  of  gold  on  our  backs,  and  invited  every  prowling  thief 
we  met  on  the  way  to  shoot  at  us  ;  had  we  proclaimed  aloud 
that  it  would  greatly  oblige  us  to  be  peppered  with  slugs  or 
knocked  on  the  head,  so  as  to  have  a  genuine  adventure,  to 
put  down  in  our  journals,  and  talk  about  when  we  goLhome, 
not  one  would  have  dared  to  undertake  such  a  thing,  so  effi- 
ciently were  we  protected  by  our  dragoman.  These  fellows, 
who  watched  us  so  closely,  were,  as  we  soon  discovered,  the 
followers  of  a  noted  refugee  from  the  Turkish  Government, 
formerly  the  Sheik  of  Baalbek,  who  had  fortified  himself  in 
the  ruins  of  Khan  Jub  Yusef. 

As  we  rode  up  in  front  of  the  Khan,  the  Sheik  came  out 
and  received  us  with  great  civility.  He  was  followed  by  a 
few  armed  men,  who,  upon  seeing  that  there  were  no  spies 
in  the  party,  dropped  off  quietly,  and  sat  down  on  the  rocks, 
some  distance  off'.  A  long  conversation  took  place  between 
the  two  heroes  (our  own  and  the  hero  of  the  Khan),  the  sub- 
stance of  which  appeared  to  be  this :  that  the  Sheik,  unable 
to  endure  the  oppressive  sway  of  the  Turks,  had  taken  up 
arms  against  them,  resolved  to  die  fighting  for  the  freedom 
of  his  country.  All  the  followers  that  he  could  prevail  upon 
to  join  his  standard  amounted  only  to  nineteen  ;  yet  with  this 
handful  of  men  he  had  fought  and  slain  more  Turks  than  he 
could  count.  Himself  and  his  party  were  sentenced  to  be 
hunted  throughout  the  land,  and  shot  down,  tortured,  or  muti- 
lated, wherever  they  could  be  found.  Several  had  been  killed 
at  different  times  in  battle  ;  three  had  recently  been  captured 
in  a  foraging  expedition  down  by  Tiberias,  and,  after  suffer- 
ing the  crudest  tortures,  were  shot  and  hung  upon  poles,  as 
H.  warning  to  the  rest  of  the  band.  For  himself  (the  Sheik), 


308  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

there  was  no  hope  but  to  kill  a  few  more  Turks  before  he  dieu 
Already  he  Jiad  been  hunted  like  a  wild  beast  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land ;  his  comrades  had  been 
scattered  and  shot  down  till  only  himself  and  six  or  eight 
remained ;  but  they  were  resolved  to  sell  their  lives  dearly. 

The  Sheik  was  one  of  the  finest-looking  men  I  had  seen  in 
the  East.  He  was  about  thirty  years  of  age,  tall  and  well- 
proportioned,  and  easy  and  dignified  in  his  manners.  His 
features  were  of  the  true  Oriental  cast,  regular  and  pleasing 
in  repose,  but  indicative  of  a  fiery  temperament,  and  the  un- 
limited sway  of  the  passions  when  once  aroused.  Nothing 
could  be  finer  than  his  eyes — dark,  brilliant,  arid  piercing ; 
at  times  gentle  as  a  woman's,  yet  alternately,  as  he  changed 
from  calmer  themes  to  the  oppression  of  the  Turks,  flashing 
with  a  savage  hatred  that  was  perfectly  withering  in  its 
ferocity.  His  costume  was  rich  and  picturesque.  It  con 
sisted  of  a  handsome  turban,  which  set  off  his  dark  flowing 
beard  to  great  advantage ;  loose  trowsers,  profusely  embroid- 
ered ;  a  costly  vest,  ornamented  with  braid  and  silver  but- 
tons ;  and  over  his  shoulders  an  ample  robe,  resembling  a 
poncho,  of  rich  and  beautiful  colors.  There  was  a  natural 
ease  in  all  his  movements,  an  unaffected  dignity  in  his  man- 
ners, a  genuine  eloquence  in  the  rich  tones  of  his  voice  and 
the  copious  flow  of  his  language,  that  I  have  seldom  seen 
equaled,  and  never  surpassed,  in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 

Within  the  Khan  we  caught  a  glimpse  of  his  wife,  a  beau- 
tiful young  creature,  who  bounded  away  like  a  frightened 
fawn  as  we  entered.  No  wonder  the  Sheik  guarded  well  his 
ruined  Khan,  for  it  held  within  it  a  living  treasure — a  being 
of  grace  and  beauty — whom  he  doubtless  loved  with  all  the 
passion  of  his  race,  whose  gentle  and  confiding  eyes  were  all 
that  smiled  upon  him  now. 

No :  there  was  another  treasure,  dearer  to  him  perhaps 
than  his  wife.  An  Arab  may  have  something  like  a  true 
regard  for  a  woman  ;  there  is  no  reason  why  he  should  not, 
except  that  it  is  not  the  custom  of  the  country,  and  an  Arab 
regulates  his  affections  pretty  much  like  ourselves — according 
to  custom.  In  Oriental  countries  it  is  customary  to  love  a 


THE  REBEL  SHEIK.  309 

favorite  horse  with  great  constancy  and  devotion  :  the  Sheik 
of  Baalbek  had  a  beautiful  horse,  and  the  probability  is  that 
he  was  even  more  attached  to  it  than  he  was  to  his  beautiful 
wife.  Nor  is  it  (to  reduce  every  thing  to  the  pure  ore  of 
truth)  at  all  unlikely  that  he  had  two  or  three  more  wives, 
equally  charming,  hidden  away  in  some  dark  corner  of  the 
ruins.  The  reason  why  my  suspicions  were  aroused  on  this 
subject  was,  that  he  took  a  great  deal  of  pride  in  introducing 
us  to  his  horse,  while  not  the  slightest  intimation  escaped  him 
that  such  a  thing  as  a  wife  was  any  where  about  the  premises. 

It  was  my  first  sight  of  a  genuine  horse  of  the  desert.  I 
had  seen  in  Zanzibar,  and  even  in  Washington,  horses  called 
Arabians,  and  probably  they  were  of  Arab  blood ;  but  there  is 
just  as  much  difference  between  the  ordinary  Arab  horse  and 
the  true  Bedouin  breed  (so  seldom  found  except  in  the  deserts) 
as  there  is  between  a  cart-horse  and  a  racer.  This  was  cer- 
tainly one  of  the  most  beautiful  animals  of  its  kind.  The 
delicacy  of  the  features,  the  fine  flashing  eye,  the  small  sharp 
ears,  the  proudly  arched  neck,  the  clean  and  symmetrical 
limbs,  were  all  indicative  of  the  purest  Arabian  blood.  What 
struck  me  most  was  the  fierce  pawing  of  the  ground,  the 
perpetual  chafing,  the  restless  and  constant  ^swaying  to  and 
fro  of  the  head,  all  so  fraught  with  a  high  spirit  yet  unbroken 
by  the  cruelty  of  man  ;  so  like  the  motions  of  a  caged  beast, 
that  frets  and  sways  unceasingly  in  its  barred  prison,  and 
ever  pants  for  liberty,  till  the  fire  within  burns  away,  and  it 
dies  untamed  and  savage  to  the  last.  Yet  with  all  this 
chafing,  this  eloquent  appeal  for  a  return  to  desert-life,  he 
seemed  to  know  and  love  his  master  well :  a  word,  a  touch, 
a  motion  of  the  hand,  even  a  glance  of  that  flashing  eye, 
thrilled  through  him,  and  caused  him  to  snuff  the  air,  and 
quiver  as  if  burning  with  some  ungovernable  impulse. 

The  ordinary  Syrian  horse  possesses  many  fine  qualities, 
though  of  course  it  can  bear  no  comparison  with  the  pure 
Arab.  For  powers  of  endurance,  sureness  of  foot,  spirit,  and 
gentleness  under  proper  management,  it  is  difficult  to  find 
his  equal.  At  Beirut  almost  every  variety  can  be  found  at 
reasonable  prices. 


CHAPTER  XXXHI. 

THE    SYRIAN   HORSES 

WHILE  on  the  subject  of  horses,  it  may  not  be  amiss  td 
mention  that  we  were  extremely  fortunate  in  that  respect. 
No  person  who  saw  us  mounted,  and  on  our  journey,  would, 
for  a  moment,  have  supposed  so,  from  the  physical  aspect  of 
our  animals ;  but  it  was  in  remarkable  points  of  character, 
rather  than  in  the  remarkable  points  which  adorned  their 
forms,  that  their  chief  merit  consisted.  Indeed,  it  would  havo 
been  difficult  to  find  four  horses,  either  in  Syria  or  any  other 
part  of  the  world,  to  compare  with  ours  in  general  intelligence 
and  reflective  powers.  That 'there  was  something  akin  to 
the  noble  faculty  of  thought,  something  of  a  much  higher 
order  than  mere  instinct,  in  every  one  of  them,  was  beyond 
all  question,  ^.s  for  Saladin,  it  is  but  simple  justice  to  hino 
to  say,  that  he  had  a  head  that  would  have  done  honor  to 
some  of  the  Howadji  whom  I  had  met  during  my  wanderings 
in  th£  East.  Not  only  did  he  carry  an  uncommon  amount 
of  brains  in  it,  but  he  possessed,  in  an  extraordinary  degree, 
the  faculty  of  doing  himself  credit  by  the  manner  in  which  he 
made  use  of  them.  His  brains  and  his  judgment  went  in 
partnership,  as  a  general  thing  ;  though,  as  all  great  mortals 
have  their  weak  points,  so  I  am  forced  to  admit  that  Saladin 
had  his.  Strong  in  his  passions,  he  sometimes  suffered  thorn 
to  have  unlimited  sway  over  both  his  brains  and  his  judg- 
ment, which  is  a  weakness  common  to  genius  ;  but  if  he  was 
bitter  in  his  resentments,  he  Avas  also  devoted  in  his  attach- 
ments. There  was  no  nonsense  or  affectation  about  him  of 
any  kind;  he  professed  nothing  that  he  did  not  accomplish,  in 
a  zealous,  off-hand  manner.  An  enemy  to  the  back-bone,  he 
was  a  friend  to  the  very  bottom  of  his  stomach.  God  bless 


THE  SYRIAN  HORSES.  311 

old  Saladin  !  I  love  him,  with  all  hjs  faults  !  Day  after  day 
how  he  toiled  for  me  up-hill  and  down-hill,  over  beds  of  rock 
and  beds  of  mud,  in  sunshine  and  in  storm,  wherever  I  wished 
to  go — save  in  those  extreme  cases,  already  referred  to,  when 
the  fire  of  genius  or  the  excess  of  vindictive  passions  caused 
him  to  forget,  for  the  moment,  that  he  carried  so  true  a  friend 
upon  his  back. 

The  horse  upon  which  the  English  Captain  rode,  was  the 
most  classical  in  form  of  any  in  the  party  ;  that  is  to  say, 
there  was  a  rotundity  of  body  in  him  that  continually  re- 
minded me  of  the  fat  horse  in  front  of  the  Roman  Capitol, 
and  of  the  bronze  horses  in  Naples,  which  were  probably  mod- 
eled upon  animals  of  the  horse  species  that  had  recently  been 
drowned.  The  Captain,  doubtless,  in  view  of  this  fact,  as 
well  as  on  account  of  his  warlike  spirit,  called  him  Waterloo , 
but  it  was  chiefly  for  fleetness  of  foot  that  "Waterloo  was  dis- 
tinguished, in  the  eyes  of  the  Captain.  This  conceit  I  always 
regarded  as  a  weakness  on  the  part  of  my  friend ;  because,  to 
tell  the  truth,  "Waterloo  was  the  only  really  clumsy  animal  in 
the  party.  The  Captain,  however,  was  firmly  persuaded  that 
"Waterloo  was  born  for  a  racer ;  that  he,  Waterloo,  had  been 
a  racer  in  early  life,  and  had  strained  the  muscle  of  one  of  his 
fore- legs,  which  accounted  for  the  fact  that  he  always  came  in 
at  the  end  of  every  race  on  the  journey.  All  that  was  neces- 
sary was,  to  keep  the  switch  going  ;  and  certainly  it  did  seem 
essential,  for  the  moment  the  Captain  stopped  switching,  Wa- 
terloo stopped  running.  The  switch  was  just  as  indispensa- 
ble a  part  of  his  machinery  as  the  piston-rod  to  a  steam-engine. 
When  we  set  out  in  the  morning,  the  right  arm  of  the  Cap- 
tain commenced  working,  just  as  regularly  as  machinery  could 
work,  and  it  only  stopped  when  it  was  requisite  that  Waterloo 
should  also  stop.  By  night  both  parties  were  entirely  ex- 
hausted with  the  labors  of  locomotion.  But  the  most  sin- 
gular part  of  it  was,  that  my  friend  would  never  admit  that 
Waterloo  was  not  naturally  a  full-blooded  racer.  Ho  would 
even  go  so  far  as  to  bet  his  hat  on  a  trial  of  speed  with  Sala- 
din, which  was  a  proposition  so  preposterous  that  I  never  could 
listen  to  it  without  a  smile  of  disdain. 


312  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

The  little  iron-gray,  upon  which  the  tall  Southerner  rode, 
was,  perhaps,  the  most  ferocious  and  determined  of  the  whole 
cavalcade,  when  aroused  from  his  habitual  sobriety,  by  any 
inspiring  cause.  We  never  came  in  sight  of  the  Portuguese 
party,  consisting  of  Dr.  Mendoza,  the  Madam,  Emanuel  Bal 
thos,  and  their  muleteers,  that  the  iron-gray  did  not  become 
perfectly  frantic,  and  cause  all  his  companions  to  become  fran- 
tic by  his  capers.  I  don't  know  what  was  the  reason — I  only 
know  that  there  was  no  beautiful  little  palfrey  called  Zulieka 
in  our  party. 

Yusef 's  famous  steed  of  the  desert,  Syed  Sulemin,  was  part 
and  parcel  of  himself.  They  certainly  must  have  been  born 
at  the  same  time  ;  nursed  in  the  same  manger ;  educated  in 
the  same  school ;  inspired  by  nature  with  the  same  warlike 
spirit  and  the  same  savage  propensities ;  so  congenial  were 
their  souls,  so  well  adapted  the  one  to  the  other  ;  so  thoroughly 
identified  were  they  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  If  Yusef  said, 
let  us  go,  it  was  go  ;  if  he  said,  let  us  stay,  it  was  stay  ;  let  us 
dance,  it  was  dance  ;  let  us  fight,  it  was  fight.  No  matter 
what  he  thought,  said,  or  did,  Syed  Sulemin  thought,  said,  and 
did  the  same — not  that  they  spoke  exactly  the  same  language, 
but  there  was  a  perfect  understanding  of  tongues  between  them. 
The  only  material  difference  that  I  could  discover  in  their 
points  of  character  was,  that  when  any  thing  like  a  real  en- 
emy appeared,  Syed  Sulemin  never  stopped  until  Yusef  said 
stop,  rather  decidedly  ;  and  it  was  evident  that  he  did  so  then 
more  from  habit  than  any  positive  desire  he  had  to  avoid  a 
hostile  meeting.  It  was  really  affecting  to  witness  the  ten- 
derness that  existed  between  our  dragoman  and  his  beloved 
horse.  Every  morning,  regularly,  before  mounting,  Yusef 
greeted  Syed  Sulemin  in  the  most  brotherly  manner.  He 
asked  him  how  he  felt ;  how  had  he  slept ;  what  was  the 
general  state  of  his  health ;  had  any  body  stolen  his  oats ; 
and  upon  being  answered,  as  Syed  Sulemin  was  in  the  habit 
of  answering,  by  a  peculiar  working  of  the  ears,  a  neighing 
and  nickering,  and  other  well-understood  signs,  Yusef  could 
never  restrain  his  affection,  but  invariably  hugged  him  round 
the  neck,  exchanged  kisses  with  him,  and  shook  hands  with 


THE  SYRIAN  HORSES.  313 

his  fore-loot  to  show  him  that  they  were  still  devoted  friends, 
and  never  could  ho  separated  hy  any  adversity  of  fortune. 
Often  as  this  was  repeated,  Yusef  never  seemed  to  tire  of  it ; 
on  the  contrary,  whenever  we  arrived  at  a  Khan  where  there 
was  a  concourse  of  people-,  the  very  first  thing  he  did  upon 
dismounting  was  to  say  :  Kiss  me,  you  beauty !  and  when 
Syed  Sulemin  had  kissed  him,  Shake  hands  with  me,  you 
rascal !  and  when  Syed  Sulemin  had  shaken  hands,  Fight 
me,  you  coward  !  and  when  Syed  had  fought  him,  Dance  for 
me,  you  cripple  !  and  when  Syed  had  danced,  Now  fall  down 
on  your  knees,  and  say  you  love  me,  you  brute  !  and  when 
Syed  had  finished  doing  and  saying  all  these  things,  and  a 
great  many  others,  Yusef  looked  triumphantly  upon  the  as- 
sembled Arabs,  as  much  as  to  say  :  Wretches  !  did  you  ever 
see  the  like  of  that  before  ?  Filthy  barbarians  !  did  you  ever 
hear  a  horse  talk  English  like  that  ?  Miserable  bumpkins  ! 
don't  you  perceive  that  /  am  Yusef  Badra,  the  renowned  Dra- 
goman and  Destroyer  of  Robbers  ?  Benighted  dogs  !  don't  you 
understand,  at  a  glance,  that  this  is  the  famous  Steed  of  the 
Desert,  Syed  Sulemin — that  cost  ten  millions  of  piasters  before 
he  was  born  ! 

The  only  time  I  ever  knew  Yusef  and  Syed  Sulemin  to  dis 
agree  was  on  the  occasion  of  an  extraordinary  display  of  horse- 
manship in  which  Yusef  seldom  indulged.  It  was  at  a  small 
village  on  the  road-side,  where  a  large  concourse  of  the  in- 
habitants, including  a  number  of  women,  had  gathered  on 
the  house-tops  to  see  the  Frangi  pass,  especially  to  see  Yusef, 
who  had  friends  here,  and  who  was  generally  regarded  as  a 
miraculous  and  most  astounding  character  by  all  villagers 
throughout  Syria.  On  this  occasion,  he  was  resolved  to  show 
them  his  best  specimen  of  horsemanship.  Dashing  up  gal- 
lantly in  front  of  the  whole  crowd,  he  whirled  the  djeered 
over  his  head,  and  then  flung  it  up  in  the  air  to  a  prodigious 
height.  As  soon  as  it  struck  the  ground  he  was  on  the  spot ; 
when,  with  a  proud  smile  of  conscious  skill,  he  hung  over  in 
his  saddle  till  his  hands  reached  the  earth,  and  grasped  the 
stick  firmly  so  as  to  lift  it  up  and  whirl  it  over  his  head  again. 
The  Arabs  were  astounded  ;  but  the  sensation  was  premature. 

0 


314  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

Yusef  neither  lifted  up  the  stick  nor  whirled  it  over  his  head 
on  that  occasion.  Had  he  even  lifted  himself  up  without  the 
stick,  he  might  have  sustained  the  illusion  hy  a  series  of  ficti- 
tious flourishes  ;  but  he  remained  hanging  there  by  the  saddle 
in  the  most  pitiable  state  of  helplessness.  He  tugged,  and 
writhed,  and  struggled,  much  in  the  style  of  a  cat  hung 
by  the  tail.  It  was  all  one  :  there  he  dangled  entirely  un- 
able either  to  lift  himself  up  or  extricate  his  feet  from  the 
stirrups. 

It  was  an  awkward  position  for  any  man ;  positively  hu- 
miliating for  one  who  was  regarded  as  an  Admirable  Crichton 
by  the  whole  female  population  of  Syria ;  more  than  awkward 
arid  humiliating  in  the  presence  of  a  large  concourse  of  expe- 
rienced riders  ;  but  intensely  deplorable  as  a  display  of  horse- 
manship on  the  part  of  the  renowned  Badra,  the  Prince  of 
Dragomans  and  Destroyer  of  Robbers.  The  Arabs  on  the 
house-tops  laughed  aloud  ;  the  women  tittered  and  screamed, 
and,  to  the  best  of  my  belief,  asked  Yusef  if  he  stood  in  need 
of  their  assistance,  which  was  an  exceedingly  satirical  and 
feminine  question ;  for  the  truth  was,  Yusef  didn't  stand  at 
all ;  if  he  needed  any  assistance  he  rather  hung  in  need 
of  it. 

Fortunately,  however,  Syed  Sulemin  stood.  It  was  admir- 
able to  behold  the  resignation  with  which  he  turned  his  head 
and  contemplated  the  struggles  of  his  friend  and  master. 
What  else  could  he  do  ?  It  was  not  in  horse-flesh  to  lend  a 
helping  hand  on  such  an  occasion.  Syed  Sulemin  could  not 
reasonably  be  expected  to  take  hold  of  Yusef  in  his  teeth  and 
throw  him  up  on  his  back  again ;  hence,  like  a  philosopher, 
he  calmly  awaited  the  result. 

Mustapha,  the  muleteer,  happening  to  come  along  about 
this  time,  and  perceiving  his  renowned  master  hanging  by 
the  leg  in  that  critical  position,  stood  by  and  contemplated 
the  scene  for  some  moments  in  profound  astonishment.  Had 
he  been  a  vindictive  or  revengeful  man,  he  would,  in  remem- 
brance of  the  beatings  he  had  received  in  Baneas  and  other 
places,  have  passed  on  ;  but  Mustapha  had  a  kind  and  for- 
giving heart.  As  soon  as  he  discovered  that  it  really  was  not 


THE  SYRIAN  HORSES.  315 

an  intentional  display  of  horsemanship,  he  seized  Yusef  in  his 
arms  and  extricated  the  embarrassed  leg  from  the  stirrups. 

I  am  sorry  to  say  that  Yusef,  owing,  perhaps,  to  a  flow  of 
blood  to  the  head,  took  his  stick  immediately  upon  regaining 
the  saddle,  and  struck  Syed  Sulemin  several  times  with  great 
fury ;  which  Syed  Sulemin  resented  by  running  away  from 
the  scene  of  the  disaster,  and  never  stopping  till  he  reached 
the  next  village.  Furthermore,  that  soon  after  our  arrival  at 
that  village,  where  we  spent  the  night,  Yusef,  who  had  never 
spoken  a  word  since  the  disaster,  now  broke  forth  and  charged 
Mustapha  with  having  stolen  his  oats  on  the  previous  night. 
This  Mustapha  denied  most  indignantly.  Yusef  said  that  to 
deny  so  palpable  a  fact  was  to  call  him  a  liar ;  whereupon 
he  fell  to  work  with  his  stick  and  beat  Mustapha ;  nor  is  it 
probable  that  he  would  have  desisted  until  he  had  fairly 
flayed  the  poor  fellow  from  head  to  foot,  had  I  not  interfered 
and  sternly  protested  against  such  a  severe  mode  of  punish- 
ment. Next  morning  Syed  Sulemin  and  his  master  kissed 
and  made  up ;  and  Mustapha  relieved  his  feelings  on  the 
road  by  riding  on  top  of  the  baggage  on  his  mule,  some  dis- 
tance in  the  rear  of  Yusef,  and  convulsing  himself  and  all  the 
other  muleteers  with  silent  laughter ;  as  also  by  showing 
every  body,  except  our  dragoman,  how  a  d jeered  may  be 
picked  up  in  certain  cases. 

To  complete  this  sketch,  I  may  as  well  add  that,  besides 
the  four  horses  above  described,  we  had  three  baggage  mules, 
all  respectable  animals  in  their  way.  They  belonged  to  the 
Arabs  who  drove  them,  and  were  much  like  their  masters — 
rugged  and  unpromising  in  appearance,  but  capable  of  endur- 
ing any  amount  of  fatigue,  when  driven  to  it  by  the  force  of 
circumstances.  The  only  fault  they  had,  was  an  unprofitable 
habit  of  lying  down  with  our  baggage  in  the  middle  of  every 
marsh  and  river  that  lay  across  our  road.  It  was  a  habit 
equally  unprofitable  to  both  parties,  because  it  damaged  our 
provisions,  saturated  our  bedding,  ruined  our  books  and  maps, 
put  us  out  of  temper,  and  did  the  mules  no  good  whatever, 
inasmuch  as  they  only  increased  the  weight  by  the  amount 
of  water  soaked  up  in  that  way,  besides  the  beatings  they  re« 


316  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

ceived  for  the  trouble.  But  it  was  no  use  to  reason  with 
them  ;  they  would  do  it ;  somehow  it  afforded  them  satisfac- 
tion. 

Before  proceeding  on  our  journey  to  the  Sea  of  Galilee, 
I  must  not  forget  another  remarkable  feature  that  usually 
was  prominent  in  our  travels.  While  we  are  winding  our 
way  toward  Tiberias,  with  nothing  but  bare  and  desolate 
rooks  on  both  sides,  permit  me  to  introduce  you  to  our  friend 
and  fellow- traveler,  Tokina. 

Attached  to  our  party  was  a  small  donkey,  which  often  ex- 
cited my  wonder  by  his  great  spirit  and  powers  of  endurance. 
Tokina  was  his  name ;  and,  although  it  could  not  be  denied 
that  he  .was  an  ass — a  perfect  ass,  I  may  say — yet  he  was  a 
most  sensible  little  fellow,  and  had  a  soul  very  much  above 
any  common  ass.  He  was  not  much  bigger  than  a  Newfound- 
land dog,  but  he  had  an  amount  of  ambition  concealed  be- 
neath his  shaggy  little  hide  that  would  have  done  honor  to 
any  horse  in  Syria.  If  his  ears  were  long,  so  was  his  head  ; 
he  carried  a  good  deal  in  it  as  well  as  on  it. 

There  was  not  an  inch  of  the  way  from  Beirut  to  the  sum- 
mit of  Mount  Lebanon,  and  from  the  summit  of  Mount  Leb- 
anon to  Damascus,  and  from  Damascus  to  Jerusalem,  that  he 
did  not  bear  himself  bravely  under  all  circumstances  ;  never 
nnce  flagging,  however  great  his  burden ;  always  trotting 
along  briskly,  tumbling  into  rivers  and  ditches,  and  climbing 
out  again  as  much  alive  as  ever;  carrying  immense  lazy 
Arabs  on  his  back  up  hill  and  down  hill,  and  running  away 
now  and  then,  and  kicking  all  the  mules  within  his  reach. 
Tokina  was  not  only  a  remarkable  ass,  but  a  transcendentalist. 
There  was  no  telling  what  he  was  about  half  the  time,  he 
maintained  such  an  aspect  of  profound  wisdom,  and  used  such 
obscure  and  uncouth  language  to  explain  himself.  He  was 
also  something  of  a  politician ;  that  is  to  say,  he  was  very 
fond  of  any  body  that  gave  him  oats,  and  always  wagged  his 
ears  and  smiled  pleasantly  when  he  expected  little  attentions 
of  that  kind.  When  imposed  upon  by  unmerciful  riding,  he 
would  bear  it  all  patiently,  never  tripping  until  a  good  oppor- 
tunity occurred  of  making  something  by  it ;  and  then  he 


THE  SYRIAN  HORSES.  317 

would  stumble  into  a  ditch,  as  if  by  accident,  and  come  out 
rejoicing  without  saddle  or  rider.  I  often  imagined  when  he 
brayed  on  occasions  of  this  kind  that  he  meant  to  say:  "Bis- 
millah  !  you  are  in  the  mud  now  !  See  how  I  throw  dirt  on 
you  !  You  needn't  think  to  impose  upon  me  because  I'm 
little.  By  the  beard  of  the  Prophet !  a  pretty  fellow  you  are, 
truly  !  Two  hundred  pounds'  weight  nearly  riding  on  a  little 
chap  like  me !  But  don't  think  because  you're  a  bigger  ass 
than  I  am  that  you  can  come  it  over  me  in  this  way  much 
longer,  I  won't  stand  it;  if  I  do  may  I  be  turned  into  a 
two-legged  animal,  and  walk  on  end  all  the  days  of  my  life !" 
Whereupon  he  would  kick  up  his  heels  and  dash  off,  laughing 
to  himself  in  such  wise  that  it  was  perfectly  human.  Then 
to  catch  him  was  a  job  that  afforded  us  infinite  diversion ;  to 
see  him  dodge  under  the  mules,  and  run  behind  and  before 
the  horses,  and  upset  the  Arabs  that  were  on  foot ;  it  was 
such  innocent  relaxation  for  a  great  mind.  Being  ridden 
upon  he  seemed  to  regard  as  one  of  the  necessary  evils  of 
society,  and  bore  it  always  as  long  as  he  could ;  the  greatest 
ass  in  the  world  could  not  do  more.  Doubtless  he  saw  how 
the  big  people  around  him  rode  on  the  little  people,  and  how 
the  .principle  extends  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  of  the 
living  kind — those  with  vertical  as  well  as  those  with  hori- 
zontal backs.  If  he  made  use  of  his  senses,  he  could  not 
help  perceiving  that  the  various  governments  of  Europe  rode 
on  Turkey  ;  that  Turkey  rode  on  the  Pashas  of  Syria ;  that 
the  Pashas  of  Syria  rode  on  Yusef  Badra,  the  Destroyer  of 
Robbers;  that  Yusef  rode  on  Mustapha,  and  Mustapha  on  tho 
back  of  his  mule ;  that  life  is  a  general  system  of  riding  and 
being  ridden  upon,  and  even  the  smallest  of  asses  has  a  weight 
of  despotism  to  bear  upon  his  back. 

I  have  often  thought  that  the  auto-biography  of  a  Syrian 
ass  would  be  most  interesting  and  instructive.  What  strange 
revelations  he  could  give  us  of  character,  adventure,  and 
book-making !  What  valuable  reflections  on  the  antiquities 
of  Palestine  !  What  rich  and  copious  notes  on  affairs  of  Gov- 
ernment !  Pardon  any  thing  thou  may'st  deem  amiss  in  these 
remarks,  0  Tokina  !  for  I  know  and  love  thee  well,  and  mean 


318 


A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 


thee  no  offense.  If  thou  should'st  feel  at  all  hurt,  remember 
that  I,  your  best  friend,  who  have  saved  thee  many  a  beating, 
am  of  the  human  species  myself;  and  accept  as  a  peace-of- 
fering the  sketch  herewith  appended,  in  which  I  have  endeav- 
ored to  do  justice  to  thy  personal  beauty,  and  at  the  same 
time  show  the  world  that  thou  art  grievously  imposed  upon ! 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

THE    SEA    OP    GALILEE. 

SOON  after  leaving  the  ruins  of  Khan  Jub  Yusef,  we  en- 
tered upon  a  bed  of  solid  rock.  It  was  a  perfect  picture  of 
desolation.  Scarcely  so  much  as  a  blade  of  glass  was  in  sight. 
All  was  blanched  and  barren  around  for  many  miles,  and 
there  was  no  sign  of  life  save  the  bleating  of  a  few  sheep, 
and  the  sad  lowing  of  camels  from  the  valley.  The  pathway 
was  marked  by  holes  worked  in  the  rocks  by  mules  and  car- 
avans. It  had  been  traveled  over  in  the  same  way  for  cen- 
turies upon  centuries  past.  As  we  came  out  toward  the  brow 
of  the  hill  overlooking  the  lake  there  was  a  change  in  tho 
scene  more  like  some  enchanting  optical  illusion  than  any 
thing  real.  There  lay  outspread  before  us  in  the  calm  of  the 
evening  the  beautiful  valley  of  Genesareth,  its  green  fields 
and  groves  of  olives  glistening,  after  the  morning  showers,  in 
a  flood  of  rich  sunshine.  The  lake  was  placid  and  clear,  and 
light  clouds  were  sleeping  calmly  on  the  tops  of  the  mount- 
ains. Bare  and  desolate  were  those  craggy  heights,  yet  rich 
beyond  all  the  powers  of  art  in  the  glow  of  the  evening  sun. 
Descending  by  a  stony  path,  we  at  length  entered  the  valley, 
leaving  to  the  left  the  village  of  Tell  Hum.  We  stopped  a 
while  at  an  old  ruin  called  the  Khan  Minyah,  where  we  saw 
a  few  ragged  Arabs  sitting  out  on  the  roof,  smoking,  their 
pipes,  and  listening  to  the  traditional  romances  of  some  old 
story-teller.  A  few  compliments  passed,  some  questions  were 
asked  and  answered,  on  both  sides,  when  we  rode  on  through 
the  low  and  well-watered,  plain,  amid  groves  of  fig-trees  and 
olives.  The  air  was  deliciously  soft  and  balmy.  A  fresh 
•cent  of  flowers  arose  from  the  earth,  and  around  us  there 


320  A  CRUSADL  IN  THE  EAST. 

were  green  slopes  of  grass,  and  banks  of  fragrant  herbs,  ana 
thick  shrubberies  of  oleander  in  full  bloom.  Camels  browsed 
lazily  among  the  bushes  ;  herds  of  sheep  were  scattered  over 
the  openings  of  meadow,  and  lambs  ran  frisking  from  us  as 
we  passed ;  $ie  cackling  of  hens  and  the  distant  barking  of 
dogs  about  the  villages  fell  pleasantly  on  the  ear ;  and  some- 
times we  crossed  little  streams  of  limpid  water,  lingering  like 
ourselves  to  catch  each  beauty  by  the  wayside,  yet  ever  jour- 
neying on  to  the  Sea  of  Death.  Here  and  there  we  saw  a 
swarthy  Bedouin,  seated  upon  the  rocks  with  his  pipe  in  his 
hand,  watching  the  smoke  from  his  lips  as  it  curled  upward, 
and  vanished  in  the  air.  Pelicans  stood  upon  the  shores  of 
the  lake  peering  into  the  clear  water  in  search  of  prey ;  and 
the  dapper  duck  sported  about  on  its  surface,  diving  out  of 
sight  as  we  approached.  Yusef  meantime  entertained  us 
with  the  wonderful  history  of  Hassin,  the  Dragon-killer  ; 
telling  us  all  about  the  way  in  which  Hassin  outwitted  the 
Grand  Vizier,  and  slew  the  most  ferocious  seven-headed  dragon 
that  ever  existed  ;  how  he  went  oft'  to  court  the  daughter  of 
the  Sultan,  a  cruel  Princess  who  had  a  palace  built  of  the 
skulls  of  her  lovers,  and  only  wanted  one  more  skull  to  finish 
it ;  how  she  set  him  to  work  to  test  the  sincerity  of  his  pro- 
fessions by  ordering  him  to  eat  at  a  single  meal  forty  cows, 
four  hundred  sheep,  two  thousand  chickens,  and  a  thousand 
baskets  of  bread ;  also  to  drink  twenty  or  thirty  hogsheads 
of  wine,  and  empty  every  well  of  water  within  a  circuit  of 
ten  miles  ;  how  Hassin,  by  helping  a  giant  out  of  a  cobweb, 
in  which  he  (the  giant)  had  become  entangled  under  the 
disguise  of  a  fly,  so  won  upon  the  regard  of  that  distinguished 
person  that  he  made  himself  as  small  as  an  ordinary  man, 
for  convenience,  and  disguised  in  Hassin's  clothes  did  eat  all 
the  cows,  sheep,  chickens,  and  bread,  and  drink  all  the  wine 
and  water,  and.  then  call  for  more,  protesting  that  such  trifles 
as  these  only  gave  him  an  appetite ;  how  Hassin  eventually 
carried  off"  the  Princess,  and  lived  with  •  her  in  a  palace  of 
gold  ornamented  with  diamonds  and*  precious  stones,  and  be- 
came known  throughout  the  whole  world  as  the  greatest  of 
Sultans,  and  was  called  ever  after  Hassin,  the  Dragon-killer. 


THE  SEA  OF  GALILEE.  32, 

In  due  time  we  emerged  from  the  bushes,  and  came  out 
upon  the  pebbly  beach  of  the  lake,  not  far  beyond  Ain-et-Tin. 
We  rode  at  once  into  the  clear  sparkling  water.  It  was  pure 
as  crystal,  and  so  calm  that  the  mountains  on  the  other  side 
seemed  suspended  in  the  air,  and  the  reflection  of  the  sky 
was  as  rich  in  quiet  beauty  as  the  sky  itself.  The  ruined  vil- 
lages along  the  shores  presented  strange  and  mystic  pictures 
in  their  inverted  shadows  ;  palm-trees  overhung  the  deep 
with  all  their  mirrored  richness  of  outline ;  white  ruins  of 
mosques  glittered  in  the  distance ;  the  naked  and  craggy 
mountains  behind  were  steeped  in  an  atmosphere  of  purple  ; 
and  the  waters  and  the  mountains  were  wrapt  in  the  sub- 
limity of  repose  and  the  hallowed  associations  of  the  past. 

Much  of  the  pleasure  we  experienced  in  viewing  these 
scenes,  it  must  be  admitted,  arose  from  the  physical  comfort 
we  enjoyed  in  the  genial  glow  of  the  evening,  after  our  sa«l 
experience  in  crossing  the  snow-capped  heights  of  Jebel-esh 
Sheik,  and  our  sufferings  in  the  Mill  of  Malaha.  Apart  from 
the  scriptural  interest  so  interwoven  with  every  spot  around 
the  Sea  of  Galilee,  and  the  gratification  of  finding  some  place 
upon  which  to  refresh  the  eye,  after  days  of  travel  through 
desert  regions  of  parched  earth  and  sterile  hills,  there  is  in 
reality  but  little  in  the  natural  scenery  about  the  lake,  unac- 
companied by  freshening  rains  and  a  glowing  sky,  to  attract 
attention.  The  valley  of  Genesareth  is  certainly  a  charming 
spot,  but  the  charm  is  greatly  heightened  by  the  predisposi- 
tion to  be  enchanted  in  the  eye  of  the  beholder.  Around  the 
shores  of  the  lake  the  mountains  are  much  the  same  as  all 
the  mountains  throughout  Palestine  ;  and  it  is  only  in  certain 
conditions  of  the  atmosphere  that  they  acquire  that  beauty 
which  had  so  delighted  us.  This  I  think  it  due  to  the  reader 
to  state,  in  order  that  he  may  not  be  disappoin  ;ed  should  he 
ever  visit  that  region. 

Continuing  along  the  shores  of  the  lake  for  a  few  miles,  wo 
took  to  the  road  again,  and  soon  arrived  at  the  village  of 
Medjdel,  a  collection  of  miserable  huts  pleasantly  situated  a 
short  distance  from  the  water,  under  the  brow  of  an  abrupt 
cliff.  Medjdel  is  interesting  as  the  birth-place  of  Mary  Mag- 


322  A  CUUSADK  IN  THE  EAST. 

dalene.  We  had  no  time  to  explore  the  caves  or -artificial 
grottoes  in  the  cliff. 

Passing  over  a  rocky  and  precipitous  path,  along  the  shores 
of  the  lake,  we  at  length  beheld  the  castle  and  ruins  of  Ti- 
berias, once  the  capital  of  Galilee. 

Tiberias  is  handsomely  situated  on  a  slope  facing  the  lake 
It  is  a  filthy  and  dilapidated  town,  built  in  the  Saracenij 
style,  and  is  at  present  in  a  wretched  state  of  ruin  and  de- 
cay. One  or  two  mosques  in  the  upper  part  on  the  hill-side, 
and  a  few  scattering  palm-trees  among  the  ruins  of  the  an- 
cient city,  give  it  something  of  an  Oriental  character.  Th(« 
foundations  of  the  old  walls  and  the  remains  of  the  ruined 
gateways  are  still  standing ;  and  the  broken  columns  and 
friezes  scattered  about  the  outskirts  of  the  town  bear  evidence 
of  its  grandeur  in  by-gone  centuries.  The  first  view,  on  the  ap- 
proach, embraces  the  ruined  castle  on  the  top  of  the  hill  arid 
the  immense  gateway  and  fortifications.  From  these  it  would 
appear  that  in  the  days  of  its  prosperity  Tiberias  must  have 
been  a  city  of  considerable  importance.  Columns  and  cor- 
nices of  massive  proportions,  beautifully  cut,  lie  partially  im- 
bedded in  the  ground ;  and  large  blocks  of  stone,  which  evi- 
dently occupied  in  remote  periods  a  prominent  place  in  the 
temples  and  palaces,  are  scattered  about  for  many  miles. 
Portions  of  the  ancient  walls  are  nearly  perfect;  but  the 
greater  part  seem  to  have  been  shaken  down  by  some  con- 
vulsion of  nature — probably  the  great  earthquake  which  de- 
stroyed Safed — or  shattered  into  ruin  by  the  ravages  of  the 
wars  between  the  Turks  and  Syrians.  This  city  was  once 
the  capital  of  Galilee,  and  was  famed  in  later  periods  of  its 
history  as  the  principal  seat  of  Rabbinical  learning.  It  con- 
tains at  present  a  population  of  several  thousand,  chiefly 
Jews,  who  hold  it  by  sufferance  of  the  Turks.  Some  of  the 
most  learned  of  the  Rabbi  composed  and  promulgated  their 
works  here,  and  at  one  period  it  boasted  institutions  of  learn- 
ing and  historical  research  unequaled  by  any  in  the  East. 
The  streets  arc  narrow  and  unpaved,  the  houses  are  of  filthy 
appearance,  and  the  aspect  of  the  inhabitants  sickly  and 
emaciated.  Unlike  the  larger  towns  in  Syria  through  which 


THE  SEA  OF  GALILEE.  323 

we  had  passed,  Tiberias  showed  no  symptoms  ot  European  in- 
fluence. The  turbans  and  fezzes.'the  loose  flowing  robes  and 
Oriental  slippers,  the  sashes  of  rich  silks,  and  all  the  peculi- 
arities of  costume  which  distinguish  a  purely  Oriental  people, 
existed  here  without  change  or  innovation.  Many  of  the 
Jewish  women,  whom  we  accidentally  saw  as  we  passed  by 
the  doors,  had  fine  features  but  seemed  wasted  and  haggard 
from  sickuess.  The  children  were  gaudily  dressed  in  red  and 
yellow  robes,  and  were  remarkable  for  their  beauty.  The 
shops  are  mean  and  filthy.  A  lethargy  apparently  hung  ovei 
the  place.  Turbaned  arid  dark-bearded  men,  with  downcast 
eyes  and  sallow  faces,  walked  slowly  through  the  narrow 
streets,  and  seemed  to  sigh  as  if  they  bore  some  weight  upon 
them  that  an  eternity  of  years  could  not  remove.  Vailed  and 
shrouded  women  glided  in  from  the  doorways,  and  the  ghosts 
of  shriveled  old  women  sat  crouchingly  in  the  sun,  shaking  their 
palsied  heads,  and  moaning  as  if  they  never  more  could  feel 
its  genial  warmth.  Starved  and  hairless  dogs  staggered  about 
through  the  filth,  stopping  here  and  there  to  scratch  up  the 
bones  of  some  carcass  ;  foul  odors  filled  the  air,  and  green 
and  fo3tid  pools  of  water  lay  stagnant  among  the  ruins. 

We  stopped  at  the  only  tolerable  house  in  the  place,  a  sort 
of  hotel  for  Frank  travelers,  kept  by  one  Wiseman,  a  German 
Jew.  Our  arrival  occasioned  the  liveliest  commotion  through- 
out the  establishment.  Women  and  children  ran  all  about, 
screaming  at  the  top  of  their  voices  that  the  Howadji  had 
come — to  be  in  a  hurry — to  get  out  of  the  way — to  stop 
•  making  such  a  noise — to  be  stirring  about,  and  not  stand 
staring  at  one  another  like  fools  ;  while  we,  calling  for  water, 
sat  down  in  the  big  room,  and  heard  water  echoed  all  over 
the  house  in  German,  Italian,  and  Arabic:  but  saw  nothin^ 

*  O 

of  it  for  half  an  hour  at  least.  Herr  Wiseman,  our  host,  was 
all  that  a  host  could  be,  good-humored,  busy,  and  obliging. 
He  showed  us,  among  other  important  evidences  of  the  repu- 
tation of  his  establishment,  the  register  of  names,  from  which 
it  appeared  that  Lord  Somebody  and  suite  had  spent  three 
days  here  en  route  to  Damascus ;  explored  the  Lake  of  Tibe- 
rias; were  highly  gratified  with  their  visit,  especially  hia 


324  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

lordship,  \vho,  with  the  exception  of  a  bad  night's  rest  in  con 
sequence  of  the  fleas,  enjoyed  himself  exceedingly  ;  would  re 
commend  all  travelers  to  take  a  boat  and  view  the  lake  by 
moonlight.  Tres  contents  with  the  hotel,  but  his  lordship 
could  not,  injustice  to  his  friends,  say  that  the  beds  were  al- 
together free  from  the  nuisance  of  fleas.  That  Mr.  Somebody- 
else,  chancellor  to  a  British  Consulate,  fully  concurred  in  the 
opinions  and  sentiments  expressed  by  the  aforesaid-  lord,  anil 
would  add,  for  the  benefit  of  the  traveling  public,  that  excel 
lent  fish  might  be  caught  in  the  lake,  and  sportsmen  could 
find  capital  shooting  on  the  other  side,  but  on  no  account  to 
venture  out  without  a  flask  of  brandy,  London  brand.  That 
the  Hon.  Lady  Blank,  attended  by  her  dragoman  and  servants, 
was  on  her  way  from  Jerusalem  and  the  Dead  Sea  to  Damas- 
cus, and  hoped  to  spend  the  summer  in  Constantinople ;  was 
highly  gratified  by  her  visit  to  Tiberias,  and  considered  Herr 
Wiseman  a  most  accommodating  and  obliging  person,  but 
would  advise  all  travelers  to  call  for  fish,  and  by  no  means  to 
order  beefsteak,  as  the  beefsteak  here  was  positively  ruined  in 
the  cooking,  unless  personally  superintended. 

From  the  windows  of  our  chamber  we  had  a  good  view  of 
the  lake.  There  were  two  or  three  boats  down  by  the  water ; 
but,  not  having  romance  enough  in  our  party  to  go  on  a  moon- 
light excursion,  we  spent  the  evening  in  writing  up  our  jour- 
nals. At  an  early  hour  next  morning  after  breakfast,  our 
mules  being  sent  on  to  Nazereth  with  the  baggage,  we  mount- 
ed our  horses,  and  rode  down  to  see  the  famous  warm  baths 
of  Tiberias.  These  baths  are  situated  about  two  miles  from 
the  town,  at  the  extremity  of  the  valley.  They  have  long 
been  celebrated  for  their  medicinal  virtues,  and  are  much  re- 
sorted to  by  invalids.  At  present  a  good  building,  erected 
by  Ibrahim  Pasha,  covers  the  chief  spring.  In  the  centre  of 
the  largest  apartment  is  a  spacious  reservoir,  into  which  the 
water,  warm  from  the  mountain,  falls  from  the  mouth  of  a 
stone  lion.  The  floors  are  of  marble,  and  all  conveniences 
are  found  for  bathing.  The  visitor  may  swim  about  in  the- 
pure  element  if  he  likes,  and,  for  a  few  piasters,  become  thor- 
oughly saturated  with  sulphur.  There  is  an  inner  apart 


THE  SEA  OF  GALILEE. 


325 


ment  of  smaller  dimensions  where  the  water  is  of  still  higher 
temperature — so  warm,  indeed,  that  at  first  it  is  painful  to 
bear  the  hand  in  it.  Invalids  may  be  parboiled  here  to  per- 
fection ;  and  it  is  said  that  they  come  from  all  parts  of  the 
country  for  that  purpose.  The  Avater  is  clear  and  pure,  and 
is  strongly  impregnated  with  gas  and  sulphur.  Doubtless  its 
medicinal  virtues  are  not  exaggerated  :  and  the  day  may  come 
when  some  enterprising  Yankee  will  purchase  the  premises, 
and  have  out  his  bills  throughout  the  hotels  of  the  East, 
"Sulphur  Baths  of  Galilee — Pavilion  of  Tiberias:  boats, 
horses,  and  bowling  saloons  always  ready  for  visitors ;  the 
best  liquors  kept  at  the  bar;  pleasure  trips  to  Safed  only  12i 
cents ;  steamer  Pasha  leaves  for  Tell  Hum  and  all  the  inter- 
mediate ports  twice  a  day :  Fare  25  cents.  Zachary  DOG'  .- 
tie,  Proprietor." 


BATHS  OF  TIBEHUS. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

JOURNEY    TO   NAZARETH. 

FROM  Tiberias  we  ascended  by  a  mountain-pass  toward 
Nazareth.  It  was  a  day  of  deadened  sunshine ;  sallow  in 
its  light,  but  not  cloudy  ;  so  still  that  the  hum  of  life  rose  up 
from  the  valley  and  followed  us  to  the  height,  where  we 
turned  to  look  back  upon  the  sacred  waters.  On  the  right, 
over  on  the  mountain,  lay  the  ruins  of  Safed. 

Years  ago,  I  forget  how  many,  occurred  the  great  earth- 
quake that  laid  it  desolate.  It  was  a  scene  of  terror  well- 
remembered  by  the  survivors  and  by  the  inhabitants  of  Tibe- 
rias. I  stopped  awhile  to  trace  out  the  sad  havoc  that  had 
been  made  there ;  and,  while  I  gazed  upon  its  mouldering 
vestiges,  the  past  seemed  to  rise  before  me  in  all  its  terrible 
reality. 

A  murky  gloom  hung  over  the  shores  of  Galilee.  No  gleam 
of  sunshine  rested  upon  the  sacred  waters.  The  hot  air  was 
stagnant  upon  the  mountains,  and  the  valley  of  Genesareth 
lay  parched  in  the  stillness.  Its  groves  of  olives  were  with- 
ered ;  its  herds  were  motionless  ;  its  ruined  temples  without 
shadow.  From  the  heights  of  Safed  down  into  the  pulseless 
waters  below  there  was  a  hush  of  life ;  for  the  presage  of  Doom 
was  spread  abroad  A  death-pall  lay  upon  the  blanched  earth. 

Then  there  came  a  low  sighing  out  of  the  gloom,  but  none 
knew  whence  it  came.  Fear  smote  upon  the  hearts  of  the 
people,  and  they  fell  prostrate  and  prayed.  There  was  a 
feverish  trembling  of  the  earth,  and  it  was  still  again ;  and 
Egain  it  trembled  and  moaned,  and  again  it  was  still.  The 
hour  was  come ;  it  came  not  with  a  sudden  shock,  but  with 
the  slow  certainty  of  fate.  A  deep,  sad  wail  of  death  rose 


JOURNEY  TO  NAZARETH.  327 

upon  the  air.  All  living  things  fled,  but  they  knew  not 
where  to  flee.  The  plains  opened  in  smoking  fissures,  and 
the  mountains  were  cleft  asunder  by  a  hand  that  man  hath 
never  seen,  and  great  rocks  rolled  crashing  down  into  the 
depths  below.  Shrieks  of  terror  mingled  with  the  crash,  and 
smoking  masses  of  earth  were  upheaved,  and  buried  beneath 
them  houses  and  temples,  and  all  that  stood  upon  its  sod.  Men 
rushed  from  their  abodes  and  smote  their  breasts,  crying,  Woe ! 
woe !  a  judgment  hath  fallen  upon  Safed !  Women  fled  shriek- 
ing with  their  children  into  the  dark  caverns.  But  there  was 
death  in  the  noonday  light,  and  there  was  death  in  the  dark- 
ness ;  all  was  desolation  and  death ;  wherever  they  fled,  des- 
olation and  death.  Crushed  beneath  the  falling  masses,  they 
lay  buried  in  a  sepulchre  of  ruins.  The  dread  doom  had  come ; 
there  were  no  sounds  but  the  sounds  of  woe.  Woe  to  the  highest 
and  the  lowest ;  woe,  woe  to  Safed  ;  woe  to  all  that  were  there 
that  fatal  day.  The  living  were  buried,  and  the  dead  were 
cast  up  from  their  graves,  and  the  living  and  the  dead  were 
entombed  in  the  convulsed  earth  to  moulder  henceforth  to- 
gether. Days  after,  putrid  corpses  were  dragged  from  the 
ruins  :  strong  men,  crushed  and  maimed,  grasping  masses  of 
ruin  in  their  clenched  hands  as  they  died ;  the  corpses  of 
mothers,  with  their  skeleton  arms  still  twined  around  their 
babes ;  blackened  and  bleeding,  some  were  dragged  out  to 
drink  in  the  light  of  heaven  once  more,  and  die  raving  mad. 
0  happy  fate  for  them  that  were  crushed  to  rise  no  more ! 
For  days  after,  the  living  lay  maimed  in  the  sad  chaos,  and 
smothered  cries  were  heard  when  Safed  was  no  more — wail- 
ing for  the  lost  that  were  never  to  be  seen  again  ;  for  the  dead 
that  never  more  could  know  the  bitterness  of  life. 

The  drearn  was  ended  :  I  turned  and  rode  on  toward  the 
plain  of  Hatim. 

On  the  ridge,  as  we  left  Tiberias,  we  had  a  fine  view  of 
Mount  Tabor,  which,  from  its  regular  outline,  standing  alone 
on  the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  is  easily  distinguished  from  the 
neighboring  mountains.  We  passed  some  rich  spots  of  ground 
on  our  way  this  morning,  and  saw  the  Arabs  at  work  scratch- 
ing it  up  for  the  spring  crops  with  their  rude  wooden  plows 


328  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

and  stunted  oxen.  On  the  left,  two  hours  from  Tiberias,  we 
passed  the  village  of  Lubieh,  pleasantly  situated  on  a  mount- 
ain slope,  and  surrounded  by  groves  of  olives.  Sometime 
during  the  forenoon,  we  passed  through  the  famous  plain  of 
Kurim  Hatin,  where  was  fought  one  of  the  bloodiest  of  the 
battles  betwe'en  the  Christians  and  the  Saracens  that  occurred 
during  the  Crusades.  Saladin,  the  hero  of  the  Saracen  hosts, 
here  added  to  his  fame  by  deeds  of  bravery  scarcely  paral- 
leled in  the  history  of  those  sanguinary  wars.  It  was  on  the 
plain  of  Kurin  Hatim,  according  to  some  writers,  that  Christ 
fed  the  five  thousand  with  the  loaves,  and  on  one  of  the  neigh- 
boring heights  preached  his  Sermon  on  the  Mount ;  but  the, 
best  authorities  deny  that  there  is  any  satisfactory  evidence  of 
this. 

In  the  valleys  that  swept  down  on  the  left,  we  saw  a  num 
ber  of  Bedouin  encampments  ;  and  on  the  road  met  straggling 
parties  of  ragged  and  suspicious-looking  fellows,  armed  with 
guns,  who  eyed  us  scowlingly,  but  always  passed  on  when 
they  caught  sight  of  Yusef.  The  missionaries  in  Damascus 
had  advised  us  to  take  a  guard  from  Baneas  to  Nablous,  as 
that  was  the  most  dangerous  part  of  the  road.  We  had  heard 
a  good  many  stories,  especially  of  the  dreadful  state  of  things 
"between  Tiberias  and  Nazareth,  where,  it  was  said  that  it 
was  an  every-day  occurrence  to  be  knocked  on  the  head  and 
beaten  within  an  inch  of  one's  life,  if  not  killed  outright,  by 
the  banditti  who  infested  that  region.  Confident,  however, 
that  Yusef  would  slay  them  all  if  they  attacked  us,  we  dis- 
pensed with  the  guard,  and  encountered  every  risk,  under -a 
most  agreeable  sense  of  security. 

Early  in  the  afternoon  we  passed  through  the  village  cf 
Ker  Kenna  or  Cana,  and  stopped  at  the  lower  part,  near  a 
fine  grove  of  pomegranates,  where  we  found  excellent  water. 
It  was  here  that  Christ  turned  the  water  into  wine,  and  we 
could  not  but  feel  as  we  drank  from  the  flowing  spring,  that 
there  was  something  in  its  scriptural  associations  to  make  it 
a  memorable  event  in  our  journey.  There  was  a  luxury  in 
sitting  here  by  the  fragrant  pomegranates  smoking  our  pipes 
after  our  morning's  ride,  and  watching  the  children  as  they 


JOURNEY  TO  NAZARETH  329 

came  down  from  Cana  with  their  earthen  pitchers,  as  in  olden 
times,  to  carry  up  water  from  the  well.  A  few  lazy  Arats 
gathered  around  us  to  see  what  we  were  doing  ;  they  watche  i 
with  particular  interest  the  progress  of  a  sketch  that  I  made 
of  the  well,  pronouncing  it,  as  I  supposed  from  their  manner, 
the  most  wonderful  work  of  art  they  had  ever  beheld.  These 
people,  like  all  we  had  seen  in  this  part  of  the  world,  seem  to 
recognize  no  difference  between  winter  and  summer.  They 
were  clad  in  loose  rags,  although  the  weather  was  cool,  a&H 
in  their  huts  seldom  used  fire,  except  a  few  coals  to  boil  tLnir 
cofiee  and  light  their  pipes.  We  gave  them  a  trifling  bak- 
shish for  looking  at  us,  and,  wishing  them  a  pleasant  timt  >( 
it,  went  on  our  way  toward  Nazareth. 


CHAPTER  XL. 

NAZARETH. 

LEAVING  Mount  Tabor  several  hours  on  the  left,  we  passed 
through  the  village  of  Remeh,  and  descended  into  the  valley 
beyond.  On  again  ascending  we  came  in  view  of  Nazareth. 
Apart  from  its  scriptural  associations,  there  is  little  about 
Nazareth  to  attract  attention.  It  is  a  mere  village  of  square, 
flat-roofed  houses,  situated  on  the  side  of  a  hill,  with  a  mosque 
and.  some  large  buildings,  occupied  by  the  monks,  in  the  lower 
part.  The  valley  is  well-wooded  with  olive  trees,  which  ex- 
tend up  beyond  the  houses  toward  the  top  of  the  hill.  A  few 
palm  trees  present  a  picturesque  outline  near  the  mosque. 
The  general  appearance  of  the  valley  of  Nazareth  is  similar 
to  that  of  most  of  the  valleys  through  which  one  passes  in 
Syria.  Before  reaching  the  town  we  came  to  a  square  plat 
of  ground,  inclosed  by  a  stone  wall,  within  which  stands  a 
convent.  We  were  met  at  the  door  by  a  Greek  priest,  who 
invited  us  to  enter.  This  convent  is  said  to  cover  the  spot  on 
which  the  Virgin  Mary  was  born.  We  took  off  our  hats  and 
went  in.  Places  of  this  kind  are  turned  into  mere  catch- 
penny shows,  and  there  is  no  evidence  of  their  being  the 
identical  places  referred  to  in  the  Scriptures,  other  than  the 
traditional  testimony  of  the  monks.  The  convents  built  upon 
them  are  sustained  chiefly  by  the  contributions  of  pilgrims 
and  travelers,  and  these  contributions  depend  of  course  upon 
the  skill  of  the  monks  in  maintaining  the  authenticity  of  the 
localities.  That  the  position  of  Nazareth  is  well  established, 
I  believe  admits  of  no  doubt ;  but  farther  than  that  is  uncer- 
tain. The  spot  upon  which  it  is  said  the  Virgin  was  born  is 
in  a  sort  of  vault  in  the  back  part  of  the  chapel ;  it  is  covered 


NAZARETH.  331 

with  a  square  marble  slab,  over  which  is  erected  a  canopy. 
There  is  a  well  of  fine  water  underneath,  from  which  we 
drank.  While  we  were  looking  on,  several  priests  entered 
with  lighted  wax  candles,  and  went  through  various  cere- 
monies ;  kneeling  and  kissing  repeatedly  the  marble  slab.  A 
poor  old  woman,  covered  with  rags,  forced  herself  in  through 
the  crowd,  and  fell  groaning  upon  the  floor,  kissing  the  cold 
stones  and  the  robes  of  the  priests  with  frantic  eagerness.  She 
seemed  to  be  under  the  influence  of  religious  excitement,  and 
would  probably  have  left  us  in  that  belief  had  she  not,  when 
we  turned  to  depart,  bounced  up  with  activity,  and  headed  us 
off  before  we  reached  the  door,  begging  vociferously  for  alms. 
The  change  in  the  expression  of  her  countenance  was  quite 
miraculous.  She  was  no  longer  the  groaning  devotee ;  it  was 
plain  enough  to  see  that  there  was  method  in  her  madness. 
We  gave  her  a  few  piasters,  and  also  a  trifle  to  the  worthy 
priest,  who  was  equally  assiduous  in  his  attentions.  Both  of 
them  wished  us  a  happy  journey,  and  we  wished  them  a  con- 
tinuance of  their  profits. 

We  stopped  at  the  house  up  in  Nazareth  built  by  the  Latin 
monks  for  the  accommodation  of  pilgrims ;  a  very  clean  and 
convenient  stone  building,  with  rooms  that  seemed  grand, 
after  the  wretched  places  we  had  slept  in  since  leaving  Da- 
mascus. It  was  a  long  time  before  the  keys  came,  but  they 
came  at  last,  very  much  to  our  satisfaction.  It  was  too  late 
to  see  any  thing  that  evening ;  so  promising  ourselves  a 
pleasant  trip  to  Mount  Tabor  next  morning,  we  turned  in 
after  dinner,  and  slept  soundly  through  the  night. 

The  monks  of  the  Latin  convent  treated  us  very  kindly. 
We  were  visited  by  several  of  them,  and  found  them  friendly 
and  obliging.  Of  course  we  paid  well  for  every  thing  we 
had ;  but  we  got  the  value,  besides  pleasant  smiles  and  kind 
words. 

In  tin  traveler's  register  we  saw  the  names  of  several  ac- 
quaintances, among  others  that  of  our  excellent. Minister  to 
Constantinople,  Mr.  Marsh,  and  his  family,  and  some  tourists 
from  Kentucky.  Mr.  Marsh  was  taken  ill  here  a  few  months 
before  on  his  return  from  Egypt.  He  bears  testimony  to  the 


332  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

kind  treatment  which  himself  and  family  received  from  the 
monks  during  his  stay  in  Nazareth.  We  saw  also  the  name 
of  an  American  gentleman  who  appeared  to  be  a  most  inde- 
fatigable traveler  in  the  East  and  throughout  Europe.  Very 
few  registers  that  I  saw  any  where  were  without  his  signa- 
ture. I  saw  it  on  the  ruins  of  Baalbek,  and  on  various  other 
ruins  ;  and  met  with  no  minister,  consul,  traveler,  dragoman, 
or  guide  who  was  not  acquainted  with  him  personally  or  by 
reputation.  Among  the  Arabs  he  was  generally  known  as 
my  Lord  Willoughby,  a  mistake  that  doubtless  originated  in 
the  passion  for  titles  displayed  by  his  dragoman,  Ernanuel 
Balthos.  I  also  frequently  met  with  the  name  of  a  much- 
esteemed  traveling  companion  from  Boston,  who,  doubtless 
from  the  same  cause,  was  remembered  throughout  the  East 
as  the  Prince  of  Wales.  Not  only  do  I  believe  that  this  will 
be  news  to  both  of  these  gentlemen,  but  caution  all  travelers 
who  may  come  after  me  through  that  land  of  metaphor  not 
to  misconstrue  the  fact  in  any  way  should  they  find  it  reported 
that  General  Sir  John  Brown,  of  the  City  of  Magnificent 
Distances,  accompanied  by  the  Prince  of  Wilmington  and  Lord 
Captain  Bullfinch,  had  just  passed  ;  but  to  attribute  it  all  to 
our  dragoman,  whose  passion  for  display  in  matters  of  this 
kind  is  perfectly  incorrigible. 

It  is  recorded  in  the  register  of  the  Latin  Convent  by  a  Mr. 
Alwyn,  of  Quebec,  some  six  or  eight  months  ago,  that  he  was 
robbed  and  cruelly  beaten  by  the  Arabs  near  Djenin.  I  had 
heard  of  the  affair  in  Smyrna,  and  now  read  it  in  his  own 
handwriting.  It  appeared  that  he  was  traveling  through 
Palestine  accompanied  only  by  his  dragoman.  Three  miles 
from  Djenin  he  was  attacked  by  four  Arabs,  who  dragged 
him  from  his  horse  and  beat  him  with  stones  and  clubs  till 
they  thought  he  was  dead.  The  dragoman  made  his  escape, 
and  it  was  supposed  he  was  an  accomplice  of  the  robbers. 
Mr.  Alwyn  found,  upon  coming  to  his  senses,  that  his  skull 
was  fractured  in  several  places,  and  he  lay  for  some  hours 
unable  to  move.  At  length  some  traveling  Arabs  passing 
that  way  took  him  to  Djenin.  The  Sheik  refused  to  let  him 
have  a  horse  to  take  him  to  Nazareth,  without  an  assurance 


NAZARETH.  333 

of  forty  piasters,  which  he  had  to  promise  on  the  prospect  of 
obtaining  it  from  the  Latin  monks,  as  he  had  been  plundered 
of  all  his  money.  On  his  arrival  in  Nazareth  he  was  most 
kindly  and  hospitably  received  by  the  monks,  who  paid  for 
his  horse,  dressed  his  wounds,  fed  him,  and  took  good  care  of 
him  for  three  months,  when  he  was  sufficiently  recovered  to 
proceed  on  his  journey.  Our  companion,  the  English  Captain, 
was  chief  officer  in  the  steamer  in  which  he  took  passage, 
and  bore  testimony  to  the  truth  of  the  narrative. 

On  the  day  after  our  arrival  in  Nazareth  the  weather  was 
so  unpromising  that  we  were  reluctantly  forced  to  abandon 
our  visit  to  Mount  Tabor.  It  is  only  a  ride  of  three  hours ; 
but  we  thought  a  rainy  day  could  be  better  spent  on  our  way 
to  Jerusalem,  especially  as  there  was  every  prospect  of  the 
wet  weather  setting  in  for  the  winter. 

First,  however,  we  went  to  take  a  look  at  the  sights.  Naz- 
areth is  one  of  the  worst  specimens  of  a  Syrian  town ;  it 
abounds  in  abominations  of  all  kinds,  and  is  the  abiding- 
place  of  as  dark  and  villainous  a  population  as  we  had  yet 
seen.  The  difference  was  very  striking  between  the  inhabit- 
ants of  this  part  of  the  country  and  those  about  Tripoli  and 
Mount  Lebanon.  There  they  seemed  pastoral  in  their  habits ; 
they  were  polite  and  affable,  and  had  a  frank  and  cheerful 
expression  that  was  veiy  pleasing.  As  we  advanced  south- 
ward from  Damascus  the  people  were  of  a  darker  complexion, 
and  had  a  scowling  and  morose  cast  of  countenance.  We 
found  their  religious  prejudices  stronger  as  we  approached 
,'erusalem,  and  sometimes  had  difficulty  in  obtaining  lodg- 
ings in  the  native  houses,  though  the  magic  effects  of  back- 
shish  never  failed  in  the  end  to  open  their  doors. 

The  women  of  Nazareth,  as  far  as  we  had  any  opportunity 
of  seeing  them,  are  extremely  beautiful.  They  are  carefully 
masked,  however,  and  it  is  only  accidentally  that  the  traveler 
can  catch  a  glimpse  of  their  faces. 

During  the  forenoon  we  went  to  the  Latin  convent,  which 
is  reputed  by  the  monks  to  be  built  upon  the  spot  where  stood 
the  house  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  The  chapel  has  some  tolerable 
paintings  ;  incense  is  burnt  continually  on  the  altar,  as  in  the 


*34  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

chapels  throughout  Italy,  and,  altogether,  it  reminded  me  of  the 
ordinary  Italian  churches.  Most  of  the  monks  are  Italians, 
from  the  Tuscan  and  Roman  States.  A  school  is  attached  to 
the  convent,  where  the  Christian  children  of  the  town  are 
educated  free  of  expense  ;  a  medicine-shop  or  infirmary  also 
forms  a  part  of  the  establishment ;  and  we  saw  around  the 
doors  crowds  of  sick  and  afflicted  creatures,  to  whom  the 
monks  were  distributing  medicines.  It  must  be  admitted, 
that  whatever  may  be  objected  to  these  institutions  through- 
out Palestine,  their  effect  is  beneficial  to  the  poor  people ;  and, 
in  general,  the  monks  who  occupy  them  are  kind  and  humane 
to  all  who  need  their  assistance. 

By  noon  we  were  on  our  way  toward  Jerusalem.  Ascend- 
ing the  hill  on  the  east,  I  stopped  in  a  grove  of  olives  to  make 
a  sketch  of  the  town.  The  weather  was  raw  and  chilling, 
and  I  barely  had  warmth  enough  left  in  my  hands  to  take  a 
rapid  outline  of  the  principal  points.  My  companions  becom- 
ing impatient,  I  had  to  spur  up  old  Saladin,  and  push  on  to 
make  up  for  lost  time.  We  soon  came  to  the  high  range  of 
bluffs  overlooking  the  plain  of  Esdraelon.  The  view  was 
very  fine  as  we  commenced  our  descent.  On  the  left  loomed 
up  the  beautiful  and  moundlike  outline  of  Mount  Hermon ;  in 
front,  at  a  distance  of  ten  or  twelve  miles,  the  barren  peaks 
of  Little  Hermon  ;  and  beyond,  inclining  to  the  right,  the  vast 
and  prairie-like  plain  of  Esdraelon,  a  wilderness  of  rich  land 
covered  with  wild-grass  and  weeds,  and  dotted  at  remote  in- 
tervals with  the  ruins  of  castles  and  villages.  Our  road  lay 
close  by  the  reputed  Rock  of  the  Precipitation.  Dr.  Robin- 
son discredits  the  authenticity  of  this  as  the  true  location,  and 
believes  the  Rock  of  the  Precipitation  to  be  not  far  behind  the 
Greek  convent.  He  very  justly  argues,  that  an  infuriate  rab- 
ble would  have  had  no  object  in  carrying  their  victim  so  great 
a  distance  from  the  town,  when  there  were  precipices  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  quite  as  well  adapted  to  their  purpose. 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

A    GAZELLE    HUNT. 

ft 

DESCENDING  by  a  rough  and  stony  path,  we  commenced 
our  march  across  the  great  plain  of  Esdraelon.  There  was 
little  to  relieve  the  monotony  of  this  part  of  our  journey ; 
sharp  gusts  of  wind  swept  over  the  plain,  and  the  only  sounds 
we  heard  were  the  lowing  of  cattle  at  a  distance  and  the  rat- 
tling of  the  withered  weeds  along  our  path.  By  accident 
somebody  in  the  party  who  had  the  gun  let  it  off  at  the  right 
time  and  killed  a  hawk ;  and  occasionally  a  gazelle  would 
start  up  and  hound  off  over  the  plain.  On  one  of  these  oc- 
casions the  excitement  was  so  strong  that  it  came  well-nigh 
costing  us  more  than  the  game  would  have  amounted  to  had 
we  succeeded  in  capturing  every  gazelle  within  a  range  of 
ten  miles.  It  was  the  first  time  we  Frangi  had  seen  this 
beautiful  animal  in  its  native  wilds ;  and  so  impressed  were 
we  by  the  remembrance  of  the  "gazelle-like  eyes"  we  had 
left  at  home,  that  we  agreed  to  capture  one  if  we  could,  dead 
or  alive.  With  this  determination  the  tall  Southerner  took 
Yusef's  double-barrel  gun,  well  loaded  with  slugs ;  the  En- 
glish Captain  a  stick  to  make  his  horse  run  them  down;  my- 
self nothing  at  all,  because  I  was  not  skilled  in  hunting;  but 
I  had  a  penknife  in  my  pocket,  with  which  it  was  possible  I 
might  be  called  upon  to  bleed  somebody  in.  case  of  a  bruise 
or  fracture.  Yusef  had  his  small  gun,  his  Allen's  revolver, 
sword,  daggers,  knives,  and  other  arms.  Thus  equipped  for 
the  chase,  we  rode  along  keeping  a  sharp  look-out  among  the 
weeds  on  each  side  of  the  path.  It  was  an  anxious  time,  for 
every  moment  we  expected  to  see  a  fine  herd  of  gazelles 
bounce  up.  But  not  the  sign  or  shadow  of  a  gazelle  was  to 


336  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

be  seen  for  miles.     Eventually  our  enthusiasm  was  cooling 
down  in  the  chilling  air,  and  we  began  to  despair  of  seeing 
any  more  gazelles,  when  a  thumping  sound  struck  upon  our 
ears.     It  was  sudden  and  distinct,  almost  like  a  shock  of 
galvanism.      Per  Baccho !    what   a  glorious  sight  !      Four 
splendid  gazelles,  not  fifty  yards  off,  in  the  act  of  bounding 
away !     Shoot  'em  !     Catch  'em  !     Stop  'em,  somebody  !     0 
Jupiter  !  what  splendid  animals  !    There  was  a  sudden  pause, 
and  then  a  shout  of  excitement  from  the  whole  party,  and  away 
dashed  eatery  body,  shouting  at  the  utmost  power  of  his  lungs, 
and  shooting  to  the  extreme  extent  of  his  powder  and  fire-arms. 
The  mules,  heavily  laden  as  they  were  with  baggage  and  the 
additional  weight  of  the  muleteers  who  were  asleep  on  top, 
pricked  up  their  ears  and  began  to  caper  about,  till,  no  longer 
able  to  control  their  enthusiasm,  they  started  oft"  to  join  the 
chase.     The  muleteers  were  thrown  from  the  baggage,  and 
were   suddenly  waked   up  by  finding   themselves  on  their 
heads  ;  when  jumping  to  their  feet  they  ran  after  the  mules 
as  fast  as  they  could,  shouting  at  the  top  of  their  voices,  like 
the  rest  of  us.     It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Tokina,  the  ass, 
was  proof  against  all  this.     At  the  very  first  intimation  of  a 
general  stampede,  he  dropped  down  on  his  head,  and  denpsited 
Francesco,  the  boy,  in  a  mud-hole,  and  then  springing  up 
again,  ran  oft' toward  Nazareth  with  his  tail  straight  out,  his 
ears  pointed  forward,  and  his  mouth  wide  open,  braying  in 
the  most  hysterical  and  frightful  manner.     Thereupon  Fran- 
cesco likewise  started  oft'  at  full  speed,  shouting  madly  for 
somebody  to  stop  the  ass ;  so  that  there  was  not  a  single  living 
object  in  the  party,  two-legged  or  four-legged,  that  was  not 
chasing  something.     It  was  a  general  chase  all  round,  of  the 
most  exciting  character,  for  which  it  must  be  admitted  some 
of  us  were  altogether  unprepared.     The  mules  evidently  were 
not  in  a  proper  condition  to  undertake  a  rapid  and  tortuous 
run  of  this  kind  ;  for  the  baggage  being  carelessly  fastened 
to  their  backs  by  means  of  various  small  cords,  soon  began  to 
elip  oft"  on  either  side,  and  to  hang  dangling  underneath  in  a 
way  that  was  not  only  inconvenient  to  the  mules  themselves, 
but  extremely  perilous  to  our  cooking  utensils  and  stock  of 


A  GAZELLE  HUNT.  337 

provisions.  One  mule  especially  labored  under  an  unusual 
combination  of  disadvantages.  Yusef  had  purchased  several 
chickens  in  Nazareth,  j>f  which  he  designed  making  a  stew 
that  evening,  and  in  order  to  keep  them  fresh  he  had  tied 
their  legs  together  and  fastened  them  in  a  live  state  on  the 
top  of  the  cooking  utensils.  The  pans  and  kettles,  sliding, 
down  on  each  side  of  the  mule,  remained  hanging  by  the 
handles  underneath,  and  banged  away  there  against  each 
other  in  the  most  terrific  manner ;  and  the  chickens,  having 
nothing  to  balance  them  on  top,  slipped  over  behind,  and 
hung  between  his  hind-legs,  where  they  got  up  such  a  cack- 
ling and  fluttering  that  the  unfortunate  animal,  driven  to 
distraction  by  the  noise  and  other  causes,  went  perfectly  in- 
sane with  fright,  and  ran  all  round  in  a  circle  for  ten  minutes, 
by  which  time  every  cord  was  broken,  and  our  entire  stock 
of  provisions  and  implements  of  domestic  economy  deposited 
at  intervals  over  nearly  a  hundred  acres  of  ground.  The  other 
mules  had  knapsacks,  mattresses,  bundles  of  clothes,  and  a 
variety  of  other  articles  hanging  over  them  and  under  them  ; 
but  by  dint  of  hard  kicking,  and  an  occasional  fit  of  rolling, 
they  got  rid  of  them  at  last,  and  went  their  way  at  random. 
Meantime  the  horses  branched  off  in  different  directions,  and 
made  the  most  frantic  efforts  to  overtake  the  game.  The 
horse  of  the  English  Captain,  though  equal  in  spirit  to  any  in 
the  party,  seemed  least  likely  to  accomplish  the  general  ob- 
ject, on  account  of  some  peculiarity  in  the  construction  of  one 
of  his  fore-legs,  the  chief  tendon  of  which  had  been  growing 
shorter  and  shorter  every  day  from  the  time  of  leaving  Beirut, 
and  was  now  so  short  that  he  was  forced  to  do  all  his  running 
on  three  legs.  The  animal  upon  which  the  tall  Southerner 
was  mounted  was  a  slender  little  iron-gray  which  also  had  a 
very  remarkable  peculiarity.  It  was  the  misfortune  of  this 
horse  to  be  possessed  of  a  body  that  tapered  off  toward  the 
hind  part  without  the  slightest  symptom  of  a  stomach.  No 
matter  how  much  corn  or  barley  he  ate  of  nights,  or  how 
tight  the  saddle-girths  were  drawn  in  the  morning,  he  was 
always  so  deficient  in  stomach,  that  in  two  hours  from  the 
time  of  starting,  the  girths  invariably  reached  his  hind-legs, 


338  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

and  the  saddle  occupied  the  space  directly  over  his  tail.  It 
was  in  this  condition  that  he  was  compelled  to  make  chase 
alter  the  gazelles.  The  legs  of  the  tall  Southerner  were 
somewhat  long  for  so  small  a  horse,  and  having  no  natural 
support  from  the  saddle,  on  account  of  its  position,  he  was 
forced  to  tie  them  in  a  hasty  knot  underneath,  by  which 
means  a  constant  spurring  and  goading  was  kept  up,  and  an 
irregularity  of  motion  on  the  part  of  both  horse,  and  rider  ex- 
tremely curious  and  picturesque  at  the  distance  of  half  a  mile. 
Yusef 's  famous  steed  of  the  desert,  Syed  Sulemin,  was  perhaps 
the  only  animal  in  the  party  that  could  be  said  to  keep  the 
run  of  the  gazelles,  but  he  kept  it  at  so  great  a  distance  that 
they  must  have  been  entirely  out  of  sight  when  the  firing  com- 
menced. The  last  I  saw  of  Syed  Sulemin  and  his  master  they 
were  rapidly  disappearing  in  a  cloud  of  smoke ;  and  it  was 
not  until  the  chase  was  entirely  over  that  I  began  to  entertain 
the  most  remote  idea  of  -ever  beholding  them  again.  "While 
all  this  was  going  on,  it  is  not  to  be  inferred,  from  the  mi- 
nuteness of  the  details  into  which  I  have  entered,  that  my 
horse  Saladin  stood  still  in  order  to  afford  me  an  opportunity 
of  noting  down  all  these  facts ;  for  such  was  not  the  case  ;  so 
far  from  it,  indeed,  that  he  had  been  tied  by  the  hind-legs 
with  a  thick  rope  to  a  stake,  and  his  fore-legs  bound  together 
with  a  strong  chain,  and  his  tail  fastened  in  some  way  to  a 
heavy  wagon,  I  am  certain  he  would  have  carried  them  all 
with  him  sooner  than  be  left  behind.  "What  I  saw  was  at  a 
single  glance,  but  the  whole  thing  was  of  an  unusual  and  im- 
pressive nature,  which  enables  me  to  recall  the  details  with- 
out difficulty.  That  Saladin  was  bound  to  be  in  chase  of 
something  was  a  self-evident  proposition.  He  was  not  an 
animal  mentally  or  physically  calculated  to  stand  still  when 
there  was  any  prevailing  excitement.  In  the  present  case, 
however,  he  made  a  mistake  at  the  very  beginning  which  was 
the  chief  cause  of  all  the  misfortunes  that  befell  the  mules. 
These  animals,  as  ill  luck  would  have  it,  were  some  two  or 
three  hundred  yards  ahead  of  us,  a  little  to  the  left  of  the 
path,  when  the  stampede  commenced.  Saladin,  entirely  in- 
different as  to  what  he  was  running  after,  provided  he  over- 


A  GAZELLE  HUNT.  33* 

took  something,  started  off  briskly  at  the  very  first  shout ;  and 
having  but  one  eye,  which  was  the  left  eye,  it  happened  that 
he  caught  sight  of  the  mules  just  as  they  became  fired  with 
ambition  to  join  the  chase.  I  have  no  doubt  whatever  that 
he  thought  they  were  legitimate  game,  and  that  the  grand 
object  to  be  achieved  was  to  run  them  down  and  then  run 
over  them.  Such  small  game  as  gazelles  probably  never  oc- 
cupied the  attention  of  so  great  a  head  as  his.  At  all  events, 
no  sooner  did  he  catch  sight  of  the  scampering  mules,  than 
he  neighed  as  if  ready  to  burst  with  impatience  ;  and,  tossing 
up  his  head  and  tail  simultaneously,  dashed  after  them  ful) 
speed.  All  his  previous  efforts  in  the  way  of  running  seemed 
ridiculously  tame,  compared  with  the  prodigious  bounds  which 
he  made  on  this  occasion.  Accustomed  as  I  had  in  some 
measure  become  to  his  fits  of  insanity,  this  so  far  surpassed 
any  derangement  under  which  he  had  hitherto  labored,  that 
I  was  forced  to  let  him  have  his  way,  and  confine  my  ener- 
gies to  keeping  myself  in  the  saddle.  The  mules,  startled  at  the 
clatter  of  the  baggage  about  their  legs,  and  panic-stricken  at 
the  thundering  of  hoofs  behind  them,  tried  hard  to  head  off; 
but  Saladin  kept  his  left  eye  on  them  and  never  ceased  to 
head  off  after  them,  till  every  one  in  the  train  was  running 
round  in  a  circle  at  the  utmost  extremity  of  his  speed.  No 
equestrian  corps  in  a  circus  could  have  presented  half  so  ex- 
traordinary a  spectacle.  It  was  utterly  in  vain  that  the  mule- 
teers kept  running  round  inside  the  ring,  calling  upon  me 
in  the  name  of  Allah  to  give  over  running  their  mules  down  in 
that  way,  and  swearing  by  every  hair  in  the  beard  of  the 
Prophet  that  if  I  kept  it  up  much  longer  the  poor  animals 
would  drop  dead  on  the  spot ;  for  Saladin,  driven  to  the  very 
climax  of  enthusiasm  by  the  noise  of  the  tin  pans  and  the 
screaming  of  the  chickens,  rushed  furiously  after  the  mule 
upon  which  they  were  hung,  and  never  left  off  biting  him 
until  the  unfortunate  beast  was  entirely  rid  of  his  load  and 
crazed  beyond  all  hope  of  recovery.  By  this  time  the  rest  of 
the  party  began  to  gather  in,  and  by  their  united  assistance 
both  Saladin  and  the  mules  were  stopped.  In  the  course  of 
half  an  hour  we  gathered  in  the  scattered  remnants  of  our 


340  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

* 
baggage  and  went  our  way,  greatly  dejected  in  spirits.     We 

never  saw  either  the  chickens  or  gazelles  again. 

The  unhappy  issue  of  this  adventure  had  a  very  depressing 
effect  upon  the  whole  party.  We  had  lost  a  good  deal  of  time, 
as  well  as  chickens  and  cooking  utensils ;  and,  from  all  we 
could  ascertain  in.  regard  to  the  prospect  of  getting  any  thing 
to  eat  at  Djenin,  or  any  reliable  means  of  cooking  what  we 
might  get,  it  was  a  very  doubtful  prospect  indeed.  There 
was  every  reason  to  apprehend  that  we  should  be  compelled 
to  go  to  bed  supperless ;  which  was  by  no  means  a  pleasing 
view  of  the  case,  considering  the  exercise  we  had  taken  in 
our  hunt  after  the  gazelles.  In  consequence  of  this  state  of 
feeling,  there  was  very  little  said  on  the  subject  by  any  body, 
except  the  muleteers,  who,  for  as  much  as  half-an-hour,  did 
nothing  but  beat  the  unfortunate  mules,  in  the  hope  of  obtain- 
ing the  satisfaction  in  that  way  which  was  properly  due  them 
by  Saladin.  But,  as  well  as  I  could  catch  the  drift  of  their 
conversation,  both  from  the  way  in  which  they  looked  at  me, 
and  the  violent  manner  in  which  they  belabored  the  poor  an- 
imals when  they  saw  that  I  was  composed  under  the  circum- 
stances, there  was  not  the  slightest  doubt,  on  my  part,  that 
their  resentment  was  directed  against  myself,  as  the  chief 
cause  of  all  the  trouble,  rather  than  against  either  Saladin  or 
the  mules ;  and  that  being  denied  the  privilege  of  relieving 
their  minds  upon  a  Howadji,  they  relieved  them  upon  their 
own  personal  property. 

As  for  Saladin,  I  regret  to  say,  that  he  did  not  evince  such 
a  spirit  of  resignation  as  I  expected  from  a  horse  of  his  great- 
ness of  character,  especially  from  a  descendant  of  the  renowned 
Ashrik.  From  the  moment  of  being  stopped  in  his  attempt 
to  get  a  piece  out  of  the  mule,  which  he  had  driven  mad,  he 
fretted  and  chafed  in  an  unusual  manner,  as  if  under  the  in- 
fluence of  some  fierce  and  insatiate  passion  for  flesh,  which 
could  only  be  appeased  by  a  large  mouthful  out  of  some  ani- 
mal in  the  party. 

The  English  Captain  was  the  first  to  break  the  silence  by 
any  direct  reference  to  the  affair  of  the  gazelles.  He  said  that 
it  was  the  most  stunning  circumstance  within  his  knowledge 


A  GAZELLE  HUNT.  341 

how  it  was  that  he  had  missed  overtaking  the  largest  of  the 
gazelles,  which  was  the  one  he  had  in  his  eye  all  along.  He 
had  kept  that  gazelle  in  his  eye  from  the  very  beginning,  and 
was  gaining  on  it  rapidly,  when  it  suddenly  disappeared  ;.it 
must  have  perceived  that  it  was  quite  useless  to  run  away 
from  him  any  longer,  and  hastily  concealed  itself  in  a  hole  till 
he  passed  by.  The  tall  Southerner  was  of  opinion  that  the 
whole  difficulty  was  owing  to  the  want  of  stomach  in  his  iron- 
gray  ;  which  was  the  cause  of  the  saddle  slipping  back,  so  an 
to  prevent  him  from  taking  good  aim.  He  thought  that  had 
the  saddle  remained  in  its  proper  place,  he  could  have  stead- 
ied himself  by  the  stirrups  ;  instead  of  which,  it  required  most 
of  his  attention  to  keep  his  legs  tied  together  underneath. 
However,  he  believed  that  he  had  wounded  one  of  the  ga- 
zelles very  severely,  for  he  saw  it  leap  more  than  thirty  feet 
when  he  fired. 

Yusef,  during  this  conversation,  lost  much  of  his  dejected 
expression  of  countenance ;  and  when  the  tall  Southerner 
spoke  of  having  wounded  a  gazelle,  he  was  no  longer  able  to 
suppress  his  enthusiasm.  He  declared,  in  the  most  emphatic 
manner,  that  he  had  wounded  two,  one  of  which  he  had  no 
doubt  dropped  dead  in  five  minutes  after,  for  he  had  broken 
one  of  its  hind-legs,  and  crippled  both  the  fore-legs,  in  such  a 
manner  that  it  was  utterly  impossible  for  it  to  run  more  than 
a  quarter  .of  a  mile  farther.  The  other  was  not  so  badly 
wounded,  having  only  lost  its  eyes  by  a  slug  (he  knew  that 
the  eyes  were  destroyed  by  the  way  it  ran) ;  and  there  was 
some  probability  of  its  living,  but  it  could  never  see  where  it 
was  going.  He  would  have  gone  after  the  dead  one,  and,  in 
fact,  did  go  some  distance  after  it,  but — 

Here  Yusef  stopped.  Had  he  been  struck  with  lightning 
he  could  not  have  stopped  more  suddenly,  or  more  unaccount- 
ably to  himself.  It  was  well  for  him  that  he  was  not  thrown 
headlong  over  his  horse.  The  cause  of  the  interruption  was 
this  :  being  a  little  too  far  behind  to  hear  distinctly  all  he 
said,  I  had  thoughtlessly  ridden  up  rather  near  ;  and  precisely 
at  the  most  interesting  point  (for  I  felt  exceedingly  curious  to 
know  why  the  dead  gazelle  was  left  running  about  with  one 


S42  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

broken,  leg  and  two  crippled  legs),  the  very  point  that  mos* 
required  explanation,  my  horse  Saladin,  still  chafing  under  his 
rt/-,ent  disappointment,  seized  that  moment  to  obtain  satisfac- 
tion ;  and  the  way  he  obtained  it  was,  by  seizing  in  his  teeth 
that  portion  of  Yusef 's  horse  which  was  nearest  to  him. 

-Now  I  have  never  said  that  Syed  Sulemin  was  a  cowardly 
horse :  I  do  not  say  so  now ;  his  spirit  was  beyond  question. 
But  there  arc  times  when  the  bravest  of  horses,  as  well  as 
the  bravest  of  mankind,  are  apt  to  betray  a  natural  Aveakness 
incident  to  the  flesh.  So  sudden  and  so  exquisite  was  the 
torture  inflicted  upon  Sulemin  by  this  unprovoked  attack, 
that  he  not  only  yelled  in  the  excess  of  his  anguish,  but 
jumped  at  least  two  feet  from  the  ground.  Nor  did  he  cease 
his  convulsive  throes  when  he  lit  upon  the  ground  again ; 
but  continued  to  rear  and  plunge  in  such  a  frightful  manner 
that  it  was  quite  evident  the  pain  had  driven  him  mad. 
Every  horse  in  the  party,  either  from  astonishment  at  this 
unexpected  turn  of  affairs,  or  fear  of  consequences,  began  to 
rear  and  plunge  at  the  same  moment.  The  result  was,  that 
the  horse  of  the  English  captain,  having  only  the  perfect  use 
of  three  legs,  was  unable  to  plunge  sufficiently  far  out  of  the 
way ;  and  Syed  Sulemin  in  the  fury  of  his  wrath,  upon  dis- 
covering, as  he  thought,  the  author  of  the  insult,  gave  that 
unfortunate  animal  a  kick  that  sent  him  staggering  into  the 
midst  of  the  other  horses,  where  he  was  kicked  again  by  the 
iron-gray,  and  afterward  bitten  by  Saladin.  It  was  with 
the  utmost  difficulty  that  we  were  enabled  to  restore  order 
among  the  contending  parties. 

When  order  was  at  length  restored,  we  resumed  our  jour- 
ney ;  but  such  was  the  jealousy  and  ill-feeling,  not  only  be- 
tween the  horses,  but  between  the  riders,  each  of  us  protesting 
that  it  was  the  fault  of  the  others,  that  a  general  gloom  pre- 
vailed in  the  end,  and  we  rode  on  for  several  hours  in  silence 
What  conclusion  my  companions  came  to,  I  am  unable  to 
say :  for  my  own  part  I  was  determined  never  again  to  join 
in  a  gazelle-hunt  to  the  latest  hour  of  my  existence. 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

DJEKIN. 

THE  great  plain  of  Esdraelon  is  one  of  the  finest  tracts  of 
country  in  the  East.  In  its  general  aspect  it  reminded  me 
of  some  of  the  vast  plains  in  California,  after  the  summer 
heats  have  withered  up  the  grass.  Some  portions  of  the 
land  seem  to  be  rich  and  arable.  We  saw  a  few  fields  cov- 
ered with  stalks  of  Indian  corn,  from  which  we  inferred  that 
this  grain  might  be  produced  here  in  large  quantities  by 
proper  cultivation.  No  part  of  Palestine  that  we  had  yet  seen 
appeared  so  well  calculated  to  sustain  a  large  population. 
Uailroads  might  be  run  through  it  at  a  very  trifling  cost,  and 
an  easy  communication  opened  with  the  seaboard.  In  some 
places  I  noticed  wild  cotton,  which  naturally  suggested 
thoughts  of  cotton  mills.  Tunnels  might  be  cut  through  the 
mountains  to  Jerusalem,  and  a  profitable  trade  thus  opened 
with  the  inhabitants  of  Judea ;  and  by  removing  the  sands 
from  the  Desert  the  line  of  communication  might  be  carried 
to  Cairo,  Suez,  the  East  Indies,  China,  and  California.  The 
hot-baths  of  Galilee  would  be  a  pleasant  place  of  retreat  in 
the  summer ;  and  good  hotels  would  soon  spring  up  through- 
out the  country  as  the  blessings  of  civilization  progressed.  I 
sounded  the  inhabitants  on  the  subject  of  annexation,  but 
they  did  not  seem  disposed  to  discuss  the  question ;  in  fact 
the  only  answer  they  gave  me  was,  backshish!  There  seem- 
ed to  be  no  hope  at  all  of  reclaiming  the  poor  creatures. 

Passed  during  the  afternoon  the  villages  of  Yafa  and  El 
Mazraah,  mere  gatherings  of  hovels  like  bee-hives,  situated  on 
mounds  or  elevations,  resembling  islands  in  the  plain ;  also, 
El  Fuleh,  a  pretty  looking  village,  picturesquely  situated  in 
a  sort  of  oasis  on  the  left.  Stopped  to  refresh  ourselves  at 


344  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

Mukeberteh,  a  filthy  and  miserable  village,  inhabited  by  the 
most  ragged  and  scowling  set  of  vagabands  we  had  yet  seen. 
Saw  in  the  distance  beyond  Little  Hermon,  the  ruined  caslle 
of  Bizan.  It  stands  upon  an  elevation  in  the  valley  of  Jezreel, 
which  is  a  part  of  the  great  plain  of  Esdraelon.  This  is  cel- 
ebrated in  scriptural  history  as  the  spot  where  Saul's  body 
was  hanged  by  the  Philistines,  after  his  defeat  and  death 
Saw  Mount  Carmel  on  the  left ;  also  Gilboa,  noted  in  scriptu- 
ral history  as  the  place  where  the  battle  took  place  in  which 
the  Israelites  were  defeated  and  Saul  slain.  This  spot  is  also 
famous  as  the  scene  of  a  sanguinary  battle  between  Saladir 
and  the  Crusaders. 

Late  in  the  afternoon,  after  a  ride  of  six  hours  from  Naz- 
areth, we  arrived  at  Djeniri,  the  ancient  Ginea,  a  town  of  con- 
siderable size,  handsomely  situated  at  the  base  of  a  range  of 
mountains  on  the  south  side  of  the  plain. 

We  found  it  somewhat  difficult  to  obtain  lodgings  here,  in 
consequence  of  the  hostile  feeling  of  the  inhabitants  toward 
Christian  travelers.  Djenin  is  one  of  those  places  occasionally 
found  in  Palestine  where  this  religious  intolerance  has  been 
in  full  force  for  centuries,  and  still  remains  unchanged,  not- 
withstanding the  progress  of  a  more  liberal  and  enlightened 
state  of  feeling  throughout  Syria  and  the  East.  A  few  days 
before  our  arrival  two  English  travelers,  who  had  encamped 
outside  the  town  in  their  tent,  were  beset  during  the  night 
by  a  heavy  storm,  which  blew  down  their  tent.  It  was  so 
dark  and  cold,  and  the  rain  poured  down  so  heavily,  that  they 
were  obliged  to  give  up  all  hope  of  erecting  it  again,  and  they 
proceeded  to  the  town  with  their  dragoman,  to  try  and  find 
shelter  till  morning.  For  some  time  they  walked  about 
through  the  dark  arid  filthy  streets,  applying  for  lodgings  at 
every  door,  but  as  soon  as  it  was  found  that  they  were  Franks 
they  were  driven  away  with  abusive  and  insulting  language, 
and  sometimes  threatened  with  violence  if  they  did  not  at 
once  get  away  out  of  the  town.  Wet  and  cold  as  it  was, 
they  were  forced  to  return  to  their  wreck  of  a  tent,  pack  up 
their  baggage  as  well  as  they  could  in  the  dark,  and  proceed 
oh  their  iournev  in  the  midst  of  the  storm. 


DJENIN.  34ft 

Our  own  experience  in  Djenin  was  not  quite  so  bad  as  this, 
though  bad  enough.  Upon  entering  the  town  we  rode  up  tc 
a  fountain,  where  we  waited  nearly  an  hour,  while  our  drag 
oman  went  in  search  of  some  lodging-place.  He  had  a  niece 
here  whose  husband  was  a  Christian ;  but  he  feared  they 
were  not  at  home,  having  heard  that  they  were  on  a  visit  to 
Jerusalem.  While  we  were  waiting  at  the  fountain,  a  great 
many  ragged  children  and  women  came  to  get  water  and 
stare  at  us  ;  and  before  long,  a  number  of  cadaverous  and 
thievish-looking  men  began  to  gather  around  us,  smoking 
their  pipes,  and  remarking  upon  all  our  peculiarities  of  cos- 
tume and  manners.  It  was  a  great  comfort  to  think  that  we 
had  near  us  the  means  of  striking  terror  into  the  hearts  of 
these  lazy  vagabonds,  in  case  they  should  undertake  to  treat 
us  with  any  sort  of  disrespect.  In  all  truthfulness,  they  were 
the  most  squalid,  miserable,  scowling  set  of  villains  it  was 
ever  my  fortune  to  behold ;  ragged  to  the  very  extremity  of 
raggedness  ;  dirty  to  the  foundation  of  dirtiness  ;  smoked  and 
smoky  to  the  essence  of  smokiness ;  and  beastly  in  all  respects 
to  the  lowest  pitch  of  beastliness. 

Yusef  returned  in  due  time,  bringing  tidings  that  his  niece 
had  really  gone  to  Jerusalem  ;  but  that  he  had,  after  great 
difficulty,  obtained  lodgings  for  us  at  the  house  of  a  Christian 
Arab  from  Nazareth. 

Djenin  afforded  us  a  fair  example  of  the  extent  to  which 
mental  and  physical  persecution  may  be  carried  without  abso- 
lutely producing  insanity.  Expecting  every  moment  to  be 
robbed  by  the  natives,  who  are  the  worst  in  all  Palestine,  we 
lay  in  the  hut  of  a  Christian  Arab,  where  we  were  literally 
in  danger  of  being  devoured  by  asses,  cows,  goats,  and  smaller 
animals,  such  as  cats,  dogs,  rats,  and  lizards,  as  well  as  by  the 
vermin,  which  completely  obliterated  all  my  remembrances  of 
South  America  and  California.  Never  before  had  I  been  con- 
quered by  annoyances  of  this  kind  ;  I  had  always  slept  through 
them,  arid  laughed  at  my  companions  next  morning  for  being 
troubled  about  such  trifles.  But,  0  Lamartine  !  Lamartine  ! 
if  thou  hast  tears  to  shed — ana  I  know  thou  hast  yet  a  few 
more  left — in  the  name  of  humanity,  shed  them  now  !  It  was 


346  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

pitiable  to  behold  us ;  it  was  more  than  pitiable — actually 
heart-rending.  To  this  day  I  can  not  think  of  that  miserable 
little  town  and  the  night  we  spent  there  without  an  itching  to 
get  farther  away  from  it.  In  the  middle  of  the  night,  after 
tossing,  rolling,  and  groaning,  without  even  so  much  as  a  wink 
of  sleep — for  the  fleas  actually  covered  me  as  a  live  coating  of 
black  mail — I  started  up  and  looked  around  in  search  of  sym- 
pathy. The  tall  Southerner  was  sitting  up  on  the  mud  floor, 
his  hair  disheveled,  his  eyes  wild  and  and  haggard,  and  his 
face  dreadfully  scarred  and  emaciated ;  he  was  in  the  act  of 
aiming  a  blow,  with  an  empty  bottle,  at  the  head  of  some 
hungry  animal  that  had  been  trying  to  eat  him.  The  En- 
glish Captain,  jolly  as  ever,  was  scratching  himself  with  one 
hand,  while  with  the  other  he  held  a  pipe,  which  he  smoked 
with  great  calmness  and  good-humor. 

"  Hallo  !"  said  I,  "  what's  the  matter,  Captain  ?" 

"  The  fleas,"  said  the  Captain  ;  "  they're  quite  stunning,  I 
assure  you.  Never  saw  so  many  in  all  my  life." 

"Why  don't  you  catch  'em  ?" 

"  Too  strong  for  me  ;  can't  hold  'em.  Tori  my  honor,  they 
won't  let  me  sleep  a  wink.  Awfully  ferocious  animals  ;  stun- 
ning, quite  stunning,  I  assure  you.  Sir,  I  don't  think  any 
thing  short  of  hot  brandy-punch  will  cure  them." 

The  proposition  was  so  gratifying  that  we  all  immediately 
agreed  to  it.  Francesco  and  Yusef  were  aroused,  and  com- 
manded to  produce  fire  and  water  in  ten  minutes,  on  the  pain 
of  our  displeasure.  Very  soon  we  felt  quite  happy,  in  spite  of 
the  vermin — happier,  a  good  deal,  than  we  did  next  morning. 

I  have  looked  in  vain  for  a  scientific  description  of  the  Syr- 
ian flea.  Surely  it  deserves  a  place  in  natural  history  :  and, 
although  unskilled  in  entomology,  I  shall  here  notice  briefly 
this  extraordinary  animal.  The  Pulce  granda,  or  Syrian  flea, 
is  of  a  lively  disposition  and  irregular  in  his  habits,  given  to 
late  hours  and  disturbances  of  the  peace.  He  sleeps  occasion- 
ally during  the  day,  but  is  always  wide  awake  at  night,  when 
his  vivacity  is  very  remarkable.  Human  blood  is  his  food ; 
he  prefers  Christians  to  Arabs*  as  an  article  of  diet ;  has  great 
vigor  of  muscle  and  capacity  for  digestion ;  carries  in  his  mouth 


DJENIN.  347 

a  long  harpoon,  which  he  throws  with  great  skill ;  uses  like- 
wise a  hoarding-knife  and  patent  forcing-pump.  He  never 
dies  naturally,  but  is  subject  to  diseases  of  the  brain,  from  too 
great  a  flow  of  blood  to  the  head.  Wounds  produced  by  this 
ferocious  animal  are  unpleasant,  but  not  fatal.  Constant  de- 
pletion, however,  may  destoy  life  ;  hence,  by  repeated  attacks, 
a  man  may  be  altogether  dried  up ;  in  which  case  he  becomes 
a  dry  subject.  One  should  always,  when  he  feels  the  harpoon 
thrown  into  him,  seize  hold  of  the  flea  by  the  hind-legs,  tear 
him  out  by  main  force,  and  deposit  him  secretly  upon  his 
neighbor.  I  always  did  so,  as  nearly  as  practicable,  upon  the 
English  Captain  or  the  Southerner.  Sometimes  I  dropped 
him  into  their  ears,  so  that  they  might  have  odd  dreams  to 
tell  when  they  waked  up. 

We  had  fleas  all  through  Syria ;  we  were  flayed  by  fleas 
from  Beirut  to  Jerusalem.  They  are  the  living  embodiment 
of  the  nights  in  Palestine,  which  are  now  the  nearest  approx- 
imation to  the  knights  of  Jerusalem. 

In  the  morning,  after  a  hurried  breakfast,  I  went  to  take 
another  look  at  the  town.  The  weather  was  wet  and  gloomy, 
and  nothing  could  exceed  the  comfortless  and  melancholy  as- 
pect of  the  whole  place  :  the  narrow  streets,  half-filled  with 
ruins  and  piles  of  filth  ;  dead  carcasses  sopping  in  green  pools 
of  mud  ;  the  dark  alleys  reeking  with  a  sickening  stench  ;  the 
walls  of  the  houses  blackened  with  smoke,  and  tottering  to 
ruin ;  a  few  half-naked  wretches,  scarce  bearing  the  semblance 
of  human  creatures,  wallowing  about  the  doorways  amid  the 
foul  abominations ;  stagnation,  decay,  ruin  every  where — the 
earth  polluted,  the  air  accursed,  the  very  dogs  sneaking  into 
darkness,  as  if  to  hide  their  degradation. 

We  were  glad  enough  to  take  our  leave  of  so  unpleasant  and 
inhospitable  a  place.  It  rained  hard  all  the  forenoon,  and  GUT 
ride  was  uncommonly  dreary. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

ADVENTURE   WITH    THE    SAMARITANS. 

"WITHIN  three  miles  of  Djenin  we  passed  the  spot  where  the 
attack  was  made  by  the  Arabs  upon  Mr.  Alwynn.  It  was  a 
lonesone  and  desolate  valley,  between  two  ranges  of  barren 
mountains,  and  seemed  a  fit  abode  for  banditti.  Keeping  a 
sharp  look  out,  however,  on  both  sides,  and  occasionally  be- 
hind, we  were  determined  to  seize  at  once  upon  any  bad  char- 
acters whom  we  might  discover  prowling  about,  and  hang 
them  up  to  the  first  tree  on  the  roadside  ;  but  they  must  have 
suspected  from  our  general  appearance  arid  the  efficient  man- 
ner in  which  we  were  guarded,  that  we  were  people  not  to 
be  trifled  with,  for  we  saw  nothing  of  them. 

In  about  two  hours  we  reached  Kubatayeh,  a  village  inhab- 
ited chiefly  by  a  population  of  Turks.  Soon  after,  we  came 
to  a  mountain  pass,  from  which  we  had  a  fine  view  of  the 
rich  plain  below.  The  village  of  Sanean  on  the  opposite 
side  is  prettily  situated  on  an  eminence,  and  is  surrounded  by 
ruinous  walls  and  the  remains  of  an  old  castle,  which  any 
person  who  has  the  time  to  spare  may  find  worth  looking  at. 
On  the  left,  two  hours  farther  on,  is  the  village  of  Jeba,  a  pic- 
turesque collection  of  ruins  embosomed  in  olive  groves.  This 
part  of  the  country  abounds  in  groves  of  fig-trees  and  olives, 
and  we  saw  a  number  of  Arabs  plowing  in  the  fields,  very 
much  as  the  fields  must  have  been  plowed  three  thousand 
years  ago.  What  would  a  farmer  think  at  home,  in  this  the 
nineteenth  century,  to  see  the  ground  rooted  up  with  a  fork- 
ed branch  of  a  tree,  with  a  pair  of  oxen  fastened  to  it  by  a 
string  ? 

At  Jeba,  we  diverged  from  the  main  road,  sending  on  our 


ADVENTURE  WITH  THE  SAMARITANS.  349 

mules  to  Nablous,  arid  took  a  by-road  to  Sebustia.  From  the 
summit  of  a  mountain  not  far  from  Jeba  we  had  a  fine  pros- 
pect of  the  valleys  on  both  sides,  with  their  flowing  streams 
bordered  with  green  shrubbery.  The  mountains  were  ter- 
raced in  every  direction,  and  fig-orchards  and  vineyards  flour- 
ished luxuriantly  on  all  the  arable  grounds.  In  the  distance 
gleamed  the  bright  waters  of  the  Mediterranean — the  most 
welcome  sight  we  had  enjoyed  from  the  time  of  leaving  tho 
cedars  of  Lebanon.  It  is  wonderful  how  the  heart  is  glad- 
dened by  a  glimpse  of  a  familiar  object,  after  one  has  been 
shut  in  for  some  time  among  strange  scenes.  I  really  felt  as 
if  I  could  hug  old  ocean,  when  I  beheld  his  honest  face  shin- 
ing in  the  sunbeams. 

On  our  descent  from  the  ridge,  we  passed  through  Burka, 
where  we  were,  stared  at  by  the  inhabitants  with  vacant 
wonder;  and  some  distance  below  we  crossed  a  deep  valley 
and  ascended  on  the  other  side  a  mound-like  hill,  upon  which 
was  situated  in  ancient  times  Samaria,  the  capital  of  the  Is- 
raelites. Nothing  now  is  left  of  the  ancient  city  but  broken 
columns  and  cornices,  scattered  throughout  the  fields  on  the 
hill-sides,  some  of  which  are  partially  imbedded  in  the  ground  ; 
and  a  double  row  of  columns,  said  to  have  formed  a  portion 
of  a  temple  built  by  Tiberius.  The  whole  site  of  Samaria, 
covering  several  hundred  acres  of  ground,  now  rudely  culti- 
vated, is  strewn  with  these  relics  of  the  ancient  city.  One 
of  the  most  picturesque  objects  to  be  seen  there,  is  a  ruined 
mosque,  built  perhaps  during  the  time  of  the  Saracens.  Tho 
view  in  every  direction  is  very  fine ;  and  the  position  of  the 
old  city  must  have  been  one  of  the  most  charming  in  Syria 
for  salubrity,  convenience,  and  scenic  effect.  Of  the  present 
town  of  Sebustia,  little  need  be  said.  A  description  of  one 
Syrian  village,  answers  with  little  variation  for  all  the  rest ; 
low  square  huts,  with  flat  tops ;  a  lazy,  beggarly  population 
of  picturesque  Arabs,  are  the  principal  features  in  all  these 
villages.  The  inhabitants  of  Sebustia  seemed  to  be  still  more 
rude  and  debased  than  any  we  had  yet  seen  in  our  wander- 
ings, probably  from  being  farther  removed  from  the  ordinary 
travelel  route.  Some  had  a  brutish  and  idiotic  appearance. 


350  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

We  sat  down  by  the  ruins  of  the  old  mosque,  and  spread 
our  table-cloth  and  provisions  on  a  stone,  and  while  we  ate 
our  lunch,  the  natives  began  to  gather  round  us  in  large 
numbers,  and  stare   at  us  with  undisguised   astonishment. 
Yusef  was  very  much  disgusted  with  their  rudeness,  and  gave 
vent  to  his  displeasure  in  English,  which  struck  us  as  some- 
what remarkable,  inasmuch  as  it  was  not  to  be  supposed  that 
these  poor  wretches  were  learned  in  that  tongue.     The  num- 
ber increasing,  we  began  to  think  they  meditated  a  descent 
upon  our  chicken,  and  I  assumed  the  responsibility  of  telling 
Yusef  that  he  had  better  drive  them  away.     He  looked  em- 
barrassed and  distressed  (doubtless  he  felt  humiliated  by  their 
want  of  manners),  but  mustering  up  his  usual  spirit,  he  ad- 
dressed them  in  Arabic,  and  they  all  talked  together  with 
gieat  violence  for  some  time.     At  last  I  saw  that  the  Arabs 
were  getting  very  forward  and  excited,  and  our  dragoman 
very  pale.     I  knew  that  Yusef  was  going  to  be  furious,  and 
that  the  next  thing  would  be  a  general  fight,  which,  consid- 
ering the  odds  against  us,  I  was  rather  anxious  to  avoid. 
"With  this  view,  I  told  him  to  let  them  alone,  and  by  no  means 
to  attack  them.     At  the  same  time,  in  order  to  appease  their 
ferocity,  I  threw  them  the  bones  of  a  chicken  which  I  was 
picking  and  some  crusts  of  brown  bread,  which  I  told  them 
in  good  English  was  the  best  I  could  do  for  them,  as  I  was 
very  hungry,  and  had  eaten  most  of  the  provisions.     Instead 
of  being  thankful  for  small  favors,  they  became  perfectly  in- 
sensed  at  this,  and  asked  Yusef,  as  he  declared  himself,  if  I 
meant  to  say  that  they  were  dogs.     I  have  reason  to  suspect 
that  he  denied  the  charge  most  emphatically ;  for  after  a 
zreat  deal  of  exciting  talk,  he  picked  up  the  chicken-bones 
and  the  bread,  and  in  their  presence,  devoured  both  the  one 
and  the  other  with  amazing  avidity.     No  sooner  had  he  done 
this  (and  I  was  certain  it  was  not  from  hunger),  than  his 
jaws  began  to  chatter,  and  he  said  :  "  Gentlemen,  we  had 
better  go  on.     It  will  take  us  till  night  to  reach  Nablous  ;" 
and  at  the  same  time  he  pulled  out  his  purse  and  distributed 
a  large  amount  of  backshish  among  the  crowd ;  caught  up 
the  remnants  of  our  lunch  and  thrust  them  into  a  bag,  which 


ADVENTURE  WITH  THE  SAMARITANS.  351 

he  cast  over  his  saddle,  then  mounted  Syed  Sulemin,  dashed 
spurs  into  the  sides  of  that  noble  animal,  and  led  the  way 
down  the  hill  with  uncommon  celerity.  My  friends  and 
myself  mounted  as  fast  as  we  could ;  for  to  tell  the  truth  we 
did  not  altogether  like  the  appearance  of  these  modern  Sa- 
maritans, and  we  departed  in  the  rear  of  Yusef,  with  a  very 
ticklish  sensation  about  the  backs,  as  if  it  would  be  unpleas- 
ant to  be  peppered  with  slugs  out  of  the  long  guns,  with 
which  some  of  the  Arabs  were  armed.  It  took  us  at  least 
half  an  hour  to  catch  up  with  him;  and  he  then  told  us  that 
we  had  made  a  most  fortunate  escape  ;  that  the  rascally  beg- 
gars at  Sebustia  had  threatened  to  insult  us,  and  that  he 
(Yusef)  had  told  them  that  if  they  did  so  he  would  not  only 
cut  their  throats  from  ear  to  ear,  but  raze  their  village  to  the 
ground ;  in  which  event  we  might  possibly  find  ourselves  in 
difficulty  with  the  Turkish  Government  upon  our  arrival  in 
Jerusalem.  This  was  the  reason  that  he  had  compromised 
the 'matter — had  he  been  alone  he  would  never  have  rested 
content  without  their  blood,  but  taking  our  interests  into  con- 
sideration, he  had  refrained  from  making  an  attack,  and  had 
ridden  away  hastily  lest  he  should  be  provoked  into  it  by  their 
demonstrations  of  hostility.  We  were  very  glad  that  the  ad- 
venture had  turned  out  so  well,  and  saw  at  once  how  pru- 
dently our  dragoman  had  acted. 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 

NABLOUS. 

WE  had  a  very  pleasant  ride  of  two  hours  througk  the  val- 
ley of  Nablous.  It  was  one  of  the  richest  and  most  luxuriant 
valleys  we  had  seen  in  all  Palestine,  abounding  in  fine  grover, 
of  olives,  fig-trees,  and  thriving  vineyards  and  gardens ;  the 
grounds  were  fenced  in  with  good  stone  walls,  and  we  passed 
several  mills,  situated  on  the  hank  of  a  stream,  which  courses 
down  through  the  middle  of  the  valley.  In  the  spring  it  must 
be  a  perfect  little  Paradise.  Travelers  who  have  passed  through 
it  at  that  season,  dwell  with  delight  upon  the  beauty  of  its 
gardens,  and  the  abundance  of  rich  flowers  that  bloom  on  the 
roadside. 

It  \vas  near  sundown  when  we  entered  the  old  stone  gate- 
way of  Nablous.  Passing  through  a  labyrinth  of  narrow,  ill- 
paved  and  filthy  streets,  we  found  comfortable  lodgings  at  the 
house  of  one  Asam,  a  Protestant  Christian.  Learning  that  Dr. 
Meudoza  and  the  Madam  had  arrived  on  the  previous  day,- 1 
lost  no  time  in  finding  them  out.  They  had  procured  tolera- 
bly good  quarters  not  far  from  the  house  of  Asam  ;  and  when 
I  was  ushered  up  the  stone  stairway,  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
beholding  them  in  all  their  glory,  seated  at  a  table,  and  glow- 
ing radiantly  in  the  fumes  of  coffee  and  omelette.  The  Doc- 
tor's head  was  buried  in  a  red  night-cap  ;  his  face  was  of  the 
purest  olive  color,  and  he  bore  evidence  of  having  suffered  the 
most  intense  physical  privations.  The  Madam  Avore  a  large 
hat,  about  as  broad  in  the  brim  as  an  umbrella,  in  order  to 
preserve  her  complexion,  which  was  already  rather  dark  ;  an  J 
[  saw  with  distress  that  her  amiable  features  Avere  dreadfully 
lacerated  bv  the  attacks  of  vermin.  HoAvever,  she  smiled  as 


NABLOUS.  363 

eweetly  as  ever,  and  met  me  with  her  accustomed  politeness 
and  cordiality  ;  and  the  doctor,  although  rather  depressed  in 
mind,  became  eloquent  very  soon  on  the  subject  of  the  accom- 
modations of  Palestine. 

"  'Tis  a  'orrihle  country,"  said  he ;  "I  no  want  to  voyage 
here  again.  De  ruin  are  interess,  hut  the  hotel  not  good. 
Very  had  hotel.  I  shall  he  content  to  arrive  in  Jerusalem. 
De  Madam  are  a  little  indispose  ;  hut  he  shall  be  better  when 
he  arrive  in  Jerusalem.  Sit  down  ;  take  some  coffee.  Mon 
Dieu  !  very  bad  country  dis.  To-morrow  we  shall  depart  on 
our  voyage.  'Tis  imposs  to  remain  longer  in  Nablous." 

We  had  some  further  conversation  as  we  sipped  our  coffee, 
relative  to  the  inconveniences  and  discomforts  of  Syrian  travel ; 
and  it  was  a  great  source  of  pleasure  to  both  parties  to  find 
that  we  had  all  endured  the  most  intense  physical  tortures 
from  the  time  of  our  departure  from  Damascus. 

It  rained  hard  all  night.  In  the  morning,  it  cleared  away, 
and  we  went  out  to  explore  the  town.  Nablous,  called  in 
Scriptural  times  Sychar,  is  a  town  of  considerable  import- 
ance, with  a  population  of  about  eight  thousand — chiefly  Jews, 
Christians,  and  Turks.  There  are  some  good  stone  buildings 
in  the  principal  streets ;  and  it  has  some  pretensions  to  ba- 
zaars. It  is  well  supplied  with  fruits  and  vegetables  from  the 
neighboring  gardens,  and  oranges  are  brought  up  in  large 
quantities  from  Jaffa.  The  streets  are  rendered  rather  more 
convenient  for  walking  than  those  of  most  towns  we  had  seen, 
by  means  of  a  deep  pathway  cut  in  the  centre  for  camels  and 
mules. 

On  the  left,  as  we  faced  toward  the  Jerusalem  road,  is  Mt. 
Ebal ;  on  the  right,  Gezeroum,  on  which  is  situated  the  syn- 
agogue of  Samaria.  Ebal  is  barren  and  rocky ;  Gezeroum, 
also  rocky,  but  cultivated  to  some  extent.  We  visited  the 
Samarians,  a  sect  claiming  to  have  no  relationship  with  any 
living  tribe,  and  \\Jiose  family  records,  it  is  said,  extend  back 
more  than  three  thousand  years.  They  are  much  like  the  rest 
of  the  population  of  Nablous,-  in  physiognomy  and  dress  ;  the 
number  now  living  is  about  a  hundred  and  fifty. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

A   STRIKING    SCENE. 

ON  leaving  Nablous  we  visited  Jacob's  well,  where  Christ 
gave  the  waters  of  life  to  the  Samaritan  woman.  The  situa- 
tion of  the  well  accords  with  scriptural  history,  and  there  is 
very  little  doubt  as  to  its  great  antiquity.  It  is  dug  in  the 
solid  rock.  A  large  stone  covers  the  mouth  ;  and  this  is  all 
that  now  marks  the  spot. 

We  also  visited  the  reputed  site  of  Joseph's  tomb.  A  rude 
stone  building  covers  the  pretended  sepulchre ;  but  the  best 
authorities  deny  that  there  is  any  evidence  that  Joseph  was 
buried  here. 

The  road,  as  we  struck  off  to  the  right  toward  Jerusalem, 
passes  over  a  mountainous  and  unpromising  country.  Some 
fertile  valleys  are  seen  at  distant  intervals ;  but  for  the  most 
part  the  face  of  the  country  is  barren  and  rocky.  Leaving 
Kubelan  to  the  left,  we  stopped  to  rest  at  the  picturesque 
ruins  of  a  Khan,  in  sight  of  El  Lubban,  in  the  valley  of  Lub- 
ban.  This  valley  is  cultivated  and  fertile ;  and  we  saw  in 
it  many  thriving  groves  of  olives.  Ascending  a  precipitous 
mountain  beyond  the  Khan  of  Lubban,  we  had  a  fine  view 
from  the  summit,  of  the  strange  old  village  of  Singil,  which 
for  scenic  effect  can  scarcely  be  surpassed  in  Palestine.  In 
about  an  hour  we  reached  the  stair-like  road  of  stones  leading 
up  into  it.  Singil  is  a  curiosity.  Situated  on  a  pyramid  of 
rocks,  it  bears  the  appearance  at  a  short  distance  of  one  mass 
of  ruins  ;  and  indeed  it  is  little  better  upon  a  nearer  approach. 
The  entire  village  is  in  the  last  stage  of  decay.  As  we 
climbed  up  the  barren  and  rugged  road,  and  entered  the 
mass  of  ruined  walls,  we  were  struck  with  wonder  at  tho 


A  STRIKING  SCENE.  355 

wretched  appearance  of  the  hovels  on  either  side.  Some  of 
them  are  built  of  mud  and  straw,  in  the  shape  of  bee-hives, 
scarcely  ten  feet  in  diameter,  and  only  five  or  six  in  height. 
In  these  miserable  dens  of  filth  whole  families  of  men,  wo- 
men, and  children  were  living  like  so  many  pigs,  and  quite 
as  dirty. 

We  found  rather  good  quarters  in  the  ruins  of  an  old  Khan, 
among  goats,  chickens,  and  smaller  nuisances  ;  all  of  which 
we  endured  with  great  resignation  after  our  experience  in 
Djenin. 

At  an  early  hour  in  the  morning  we  took  our  leave  of  Sin- 
gil,  and  from  the  top  of  the  mountain  saw  the  sun  rise  in  his 
most  inspiring  style,  gilding  the  mountain  peaks  in  the  vast 
circle  around  with  all  the  radiant  glory  of  his  rays.  Stop- 
ping awhile  at  Ain-el-Haramayeh,  we  enjoyed  a  sight  less 
grand,  but  scarcely  less  striking.  It  was  washing-day  with 
the  women  of  the  village.  About  three-score  of  leathern- 
faced  and  skinny  old  hags  were  standing  up  to  their  knees  in 
water  at  the  foot  of  the  fountain,  scolding  one  another,  or 
more  probably  (as  I  took  it)  abusing  their  husbands ;  and 
pounding  their  husband's  breeches  with  great  clubs,  as  if 
nothing  would  please  them  better  than  to  be  pounding  legs 
in  them  at  the  same  time.  I  saw  one  ferocious  old  hag  take 
up  a  ragged  shirt,  wring  it  maliciously  by  the  neck,  then 
place  it  on  a  flat  stone,  and  mash  it  into  a  shapeless  mass  by 
the  desperate  and  malignant  blows  that  she  gave  it  with  her 
club.  I  was  really  very  glad  that  her  husband  was  not  in- 
side of  that  shirt,  while  she  was  wringing  and  pounding  it ; 
for  I  should  have  felt  called  upon  to  expostulate  with  her, 
and  there  is  no  telling  how  such  interference  from  a  stranger 
would  have  been  received  by  the  excited  bevy  of  furies"  who 
were  flourishing  their  clubs  all  around.  The  probability  is 
that  I  should  have  been  compelled  in  the  end  to  seek  protec- 
tion behind  Yusef ;  who  by  this  time,  however,  was  a  long 
way  off,  because,  as  he  afterward  admitted,  he  always  kept 
clear  of  women  on  wash-day.  He  disliked  the  female  sex 
every  day  in  the  year ;  he  disliked  them  on  wash-day  more 
than  ever  ;  because  it  always  brought  to  mind  a  favorite  sash 


356  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

that  he  wor«,  which  he  gave  to  one  of  his  nieces  to  wash 
some  time  ago,  telling  her  at  the  same  time  to  he  careful  how 
she  rubbed  it,  as  it  was  of  very  rare  and  delicate  texture,  and 
he  never  would  wear  any  thing  with  holes  in  it.  Now  this 
niece,  being  of  a  malicious  turn,  like  all  womankind,  took  the 
sash  to  a  neighboring  fountain,  and  belabored  it  with  a  club 
till  she  pounded  a  small  hole  in  one  end  of  it ;  and  then  she 
brought  it  to  him,  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  and  said  :  "  I  am 
very  sorry,  Uncle  Yusef,  but  I've  spoiled  your  sash.  If  you'll 
forgive  me  this  time,  I'll  never  do  it  again.  You  see  what  a 
great  hole  there  is  in  it !"  "  Yes,"  said  Yusef,  "  I  see  thert 
is ;  a  pretty  business  you've  made  of  it.  You  may  take  it 
now  and  wear  it  on  your  head  as  a  token  of  my  displeasure  ; 
when  I  have  any  more  sashes  to  wash  I'll  wash  them  my- 
self." And  so  he  did,  to  the  best  of  my  belief;  for.  during 
the  whole  journey,  I  never  saw  him  give  a  sash  to  one  of  his 
nieces  to  wash,  though  I  sometimes  detected  him  giving  them 
handkerchiefs  and  other  nice  little  presents  that  were  perfectly 
new. 

On  leaving  Ain-el-Haramayeh,  we  passed  through  some 
fine  valleys,  abounding  on  both  sides  of  the  road  with  luxuri- 
ant groves  of  fig-trees.  The  inhabitants  of  this  part  of  the 
country  seemed  to  be  more  industrious  and  thriving  than 
those  living  between  Nazareth  and  Nablous.  Some  very 
good  pieces  of  ground,  fenced  in  with  rough  walls  of  stone, 
were  frequently  to  be  seen  on  the  sides  of  the  hills ;  and  it 
was  pleasant  to  hear  the  songs  of  the  native  laborers  who 
were  engaged  in  sowing  the  grain  for  the  crops  of  the  coming 
season. 

Passing  to  the  right  of  a  dirty  village  called  Jibia,  we 
stopped  awhile  at  Sinea  and  Infua,  and  thence  continued  on 
to  Bireh,  rather  a  larger  and  better  looking  village  than  we 
had  seen  since  leaving  Nablous.  A  short  distance  below 
Bireh  is  an  old  Khan,  with  a  fountain  near  it,  where  we  dis- 
mounted to  refresh  ourselves,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  being 
abused  for  half  an  hour  by  a  crowd  of  washerwomen,  still 
more  ferocious  and  alarming  in  their  appearance  than  those 
of  Haramayeh. 


A  STRIKING  SCENE.  357 

Beyond  Bireh,  toward  Jerusalem,  we  entered  a  rocky  plain 
entirely  destitute  of  wood.  This,  with  little  change,  continued 
till  we  began  to  ascend  the  mountains  overlooking  the  sacred 
city.  Several  caravans  of  camels,  laden  with  merchandise 
for  the  interior  towns,  obstructed  the  narrow  passes  in  the 
rocks,  and  sometimes  obliged  us  to  turn  back  in  order  to 
avoid  being  walked  over.  It  was  very  Oriental,  this  sort  of 
thing,  but  not  pleasant.  I  had  a  great  notion  to  put  soms 
of  those  camels  to  death — especially  one  that  walked  bith 
Saladin  and  myself  off  the  road,  and  sent  us  rolling  down 
a  steep  hill,  in  such  a  dangerous  way  that  it  was  a  miracle 
our  necks  were  not  broken. 

The  camel  is  an  oddity  in  his  way.  He  looks  very  well  in 
a  picture  or  on  a  desert  standing  under  a  palm-tree  ;  he  looks 
well  at  a  distance  with  a  family  of  Bedouins  on  his  back  ;  he 
looks  well  lying  down  by  the  ruins  of  an  old  mosque ;  in  an 
artistical  point  of  view,  he  looks  well  almost  any  where  ;  yet, 
when  you  come  to  analyze  his  character,  and  consider  all  the 
fine  descriptions  that  poetical  writers  have  given  of  his  pa- 
tience, his  gentleness,  his  powers  of  endurance,  his  admirable 
physical  construction,  and  all  that,  I  arn  rather  disposed  to 
regard  him  in  the  light  of  a  humbug ;  and  I  take  the  more 
satisfaction  in  expressing  this  opinion  because  it  has  a  healing 
influence  upon  the  bruises  that  I  received  when  Saladin  and 
myself  were  rolled  down  the  hill.  As  to  his  gentleness,  he  is 
gentle  from  pure  laziness.  He  can  be  vicious  enough  at  times. 
Let  any  body  who  would  test  the  mild  spirit  of  the  camel, 
place  his  fingers  between  the  teeth  of  that  gentle  animal,  at 
certain  periods,  when  he  has  been  fretted,  and  there  will  soon 
be  no  further  room  for  doubt  on  the  subject.  The  camel  is 
gentle,  when  he  is  not  savage  ;  patient,  when  he  is  not  im- 
patient ;  affectionate,  when  he  wants  something  to  eat ;  docile, 
when  he  is  taught  to  understand  that  the  absence  of  docility 
is  usually  filled  with  a  stick.  As  to  his  physical  strength 
and  powers  of  endurance  :  Can  he  jump  as  far  as  a  flea  ? 
can  he  carry  as  heavy  a  load  on  his  back ;  can  he  endure 
half  the  amount  of  heat  or  cold  ?  I  mean  in  proportion  to 
his  rlze.  Let  any  body  who  admires  the  beauty  of  the  came: 


358  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE   EAST. 

stand  behind  one  and  see  him  go  down  a  hill ;  cast  a  look  at 
his  feet  and  legs  ;  and  ask  himself,  Is  that  beautiful '.'  is  that 
picturesque  ?  is  that  graceful  ?  and  he  will  see  how  ridiculous 
the  idea  is,  and  what  an  awkward,  ungainly,  absurd  animal 
the  camel  is.  I  hold  that  Tokina,  the  Prince  of  Asses,  has 
more  beauty  in  his  person  and  more  sense  in  that  long  head 
of  his,  than  all  the  camels  in  Syria.  I  am  perfectly  satisfied 
with  my  experience  in  camel's.  Once,  during  a  sojourn  in 
Zanzibar,  I  mounted  a  camel,  and  was  thrown  over  his  head 
before  I  had  traveled  ten  paces.  On  another  occasion,  as  I 
was  walking  by  the  sea-shore  one  morning,  three  frisky  old 
camels,  by  way  of  a  frolic,  ran  after  me.  I  was  rather  brisk 
at  running — especially  when  three  large  animals  with  whose 
habits  I  was  not  familiar  were  after  me — and  I  gave  them  a 
very  fair  race  of  it  for  as  much  as  a  mile,  and  probably  might 
have  made  them  run  a  mile  or  two  more,  had  I  not  run  into 
some  quick-sand.  The  camels  ran  all  round  the  quick-sand 
twice  or  three  times,  arid  then  went  away  about  their  busi- 
ness, which  was  more  than  I  did,  for  I  was  up  to  my  arm-pits 
in  the  sand  by  that  time;  and  I  remained  there  perfectly 
satisfied  that  I  was  gaining  on  them  up  to  that  period,  and 
that  I  would  eventually  have  beaten  them  had  I  retained  the 
free  use  of  my  leg's.  I  was  not  satisfied,  however,  with  the 
way  I  was  going  then,  so  I  shouted  to  some  Arabs  who  chanced 
to  be  near,  and  they  pulled  me  out.  Ever  since  that  period 
I  have  been  prejudiced  against  camels,  nor  has  that  prejudice 
been  removed  by  my  experience  in  Syria.  I  would  recom- 
mend all  camels  in  future  to  keep  clear  of  any  body  that  looka 
like  a  General  in  the  Bobtail  Militia, 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 

JERUSALEM. 


FROM  a  mountain-pass  above  the  plain  beyond  Bireh,  we 
rode  out  on  a  wide  waste  of  whitish  rocks,  and  beheld  in 
the  distance  a  walled  city,  dim  in  the  shades  of  the  coming 
night. 


VIEW  OF  JERUSALEM  FROM  THE  GROTTO  OF  JEREMIAH. 

"  How  doth  the  city  sit  solitary,  that  was  full  of  people  ! 
how  is  she  become  a  widow  !  she  that  was  great  among  na- 
tions, and  princess  among  the  provinces,  how  is  she  become 
tributary ! 

"  She  weepeth  sore  in  the  night  and  her  tears  are  on  her 
cheeks ;  among  all  her  lovers  she  hath  none  to  comfort  her : 


360  JERUSALEM. 

all  her  friends  have  dealt  treacherously  with  her,  they  are  be- 
come her  enemies." 

The  resident  population  of  Jerusalem  is  about  seventeen 
thousand ;  consisting  chiefly  of  Turks,  Armenians,  Arabs, 
Greeks,  Italians,  and  Jews  of  all  nations.  It  is  estimated 
that  the  average  number  of  pilgrims  who  visit  the  Holy  City 
every  year  is  about  fifteen  thousand.  On  particular  occasions 
the  influx  of  strangers  is  of  course  much  greater.  Some- 
times, when  the  accommodations  of  the  city  are  insufficient 
for  so  many  pilgrims,  encampments  are  formed  outside  the 
walls;  and  many  find  shelter  in  the  Convents  of  Bethlehem 
and  St.  Saba.  The  uncertain  tenure  upon  which  each  sect 
holds  its  right  of  worship  in  Jerusalem  ;  the  mingled  severity 
and  laxity  of  the  Turkish  laws ;  the  fanatical  zeal  with 
which  all  the  sects  are  inspired,  and  the  bigoted  hatred  that 
exists  between  them,  give  rise  to  perpetual  hostility  of  feel- 
ing, and  often  to  sanguinary  feuds.  It  is  deplorable  and 
melancholy  to  see  how  profaned  are  the  precepts  of  Him  who 
preached  peace  and  good-will  toward  all  men  in  this  very 
spot ;  whose  voice  still  lingers  upon  Zion  and  the  Mount  of 
Olives ;  to  witness  in  their  worst  form  envy,  hatred,  and  mal- 
ice practiced  in  Hio  name,  and  the  outward  worship  of  God 
where  sin  and  wickedness  reign  triumphant.  Perhaps  upon 
the  whole  face  of  the  globe  there  could  not  be  found  a  spot 
less  holy  than  modern  Jerusalem.  All  the  fierce  bad  pas- 
sions that  drive  men  to  crime  are  let  loose  here  in  the  strug- 
gle for  immortality;  all  the  better  traits  of  human  nature  are 
buried  iri  fanaticism  ;  all  the  teachings  of  wisdom  and  human- 
ity are  violated  in  a  brutish  battle  for  spiritual  supremacy,  i 

In  the  Holy  Sepulchre  the  hatred  between  the  sects  is  fierce 
and  undying.  The  Greeks  and  Roman  Catholics,  the  Copts, 
Armenians,  and  Maronites,  have  each  a  share  in  it,  which 
they  hold  by  sufferance  of  the  Turkish  Government ;  but  thia 
union  of  proprietorship,  instead  of  producing  a  corresponding 
unity  of  feeling,  occasions  bitter  and  constant  hostility.  The 
Greeks  and  Romans,  who  are  the  two  largest  sects,  and  in 
some  sort  rivals,  hate  each  other  with  a  ferocity  unparalleled 
in  the  annals  of  religious  intolerance.  The  less  influential 


JERUSALEM.  3fii 

sects  hate  the  others  because  of  their  power  arid  repeated  ag- 
gressions ;  the  so-called  Frank  Catholics  hate  the  Copts  and 
Armenians,  whom  they  regard  as  mere  interlopers,  without 
any  right  to  enjoy  the  Christian  mode  of  worship ;  all  hate 
each  other  for  some  real  or  imaginary  cause,  and  each  in- 
dulges in  the  self-glorification  of  believing  itself  to  be  the  only 
sect  that  can  find  favor  in  the  eyes  of  the  Creator.  Such  is 
the  bitterness  of  this  sectional  hostility  that  for  many  years 
past  it  has  been  impossible  to  keep  the  building  in  a  state 
of  repair.  The  roof  is  dilapidated,  and  the  rain  pours  in 
through  the  windows;  yet  so  it  remains.  The  Latins  will 
not  permit  the  Greeks  to  undertake  the  necessary  repairs,  lest 
the  mere  act  should  give  an  implied  ascendency  of  power 
the  Greeks  refuse  to  give  the  Latins  permission  for  the  same 
reason ;  the  Copts  and  Armenians  are  too  feeble  to  contend 
with  the  more  powerful  sects  ;  and  the  more  powerful  sects  re- 
fuse to  grant  them  any  liberty  which  they  do  not  already  hold 
in  despite  of  them  through  the  Turkish  Government.  During 
the  ceremony  of  the  Holy  Fire,  which  takes  place  once  a 
year,  the  scenes  of  ferocity  and  violence  that  occur  are  inde- 
scribable. Religious  insanity,  and  all  the  horrors  of  blood- 
thirsty fanaticism,  destroy  many  of  the  devotees.  Crimes  of 
the  darkest  character  are  committed  with  impunity.  Half- 
naked  men  and  frantic  women  struggle  madly  through  the 
crowd  with  live  coals  of  fire  pressed  to  their  breasts ;  bodies 
of  the  stabbed  and  maimed  are  dragged  out  dead  ;  the  chant- 
ing of  priests,  the  howling  of  the  burnt,  the  groaning  of  the 
crushed,  fill  the  thick  and  suffocating  air  ;  and  from  the  sway- 
ing mass  arise  dying  shrieks  of  Immanuel !  Immanuel !  Glory 
to  God  !  Sickened  with  the  disgusting  and  humiliating  spec- 
tacle, the  beholder  turns  away  with  the  startling  words  of 
Ferdinand  upon  his  lips — 

Hell  is  empty  and  all  the  devils  are  here. 

Wo  were  .not  long  installed  in  our  quarters  at  Signer  Ste- 
phano's  hotel,  when  we  were  beset  by  dealers  in  all  sorts  of 
relics ;  crosses  of  pearl  and  olive-wood,  fruit-beads  from  Mecca, 
ear-rings  of  asphaltum  from  the  Dead  Sea,  polished  Hint  and 
petrified  olives  from  the  Mount  of  Olives  and  the  Garden  of 


362  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

Gethsemane,  and  small  trinkets,  manufactured  of  lead,  from 
the  Convent  of  St.  Seba.  These  relics,  which  are  purchased 
in  great  quantities  by  the  pilgrims,  form  an  important  source 
of  revenue  to  the  convents  of  Jerusalem.  A  considerable  por- 
tion of  the  population  also  obtain  a  living  by  making  and  vend- 
ing them.  The  most  skillful  carvers  of  pearl  are  said  to  be  the 
inhabitants  of  Bethlehem.  Some  very  beautiful  specimens  are 
carried  about  by  the  Jewish  peddlers  who  frequent  the  Frank 
quarters.  The  pearl  is  imported  on  the  backs  of  camels  from 
Cairo  and  the  Isthmus  of  Suez.  In  general,  the  designs  are 
taken  from  the  pictures  in  the  various  convents,  and,  consid- 
ering the  rude  instruments  used  in  executing  them,  and  the 
prevailing  ignorance  of  the  principles  of  art,  they  are  wonder- 
fully well  done.  I  saw  many  that  gave  me  a  high  opinion  of 
the  natural  ingenuity  of  the  Arabs.  Olive-beads  and  the  fruit- 
beads  of  Mecca  and  Bethlehem  are  hung  up  for  sale  in  all  the 
bazaars.  A  few  piasters  will  purchase  quite  a  collection 
Enough  of  walking-sticks,  paper-cutters,  and  snuff-boxes,  pur- 
porting to  be  cut  from  the  ancient  olive-trees  in  the  Garden  of 
Gethsemane,  are  sold  annually  to  freight  a  ship.  It  is  rare  to 
find  any  thing  in  the  way  of  a  relic  that  can  really  be  traced 
to  the  original  olives  ;  for,  being  only  eight  in  number,  walled 
round  and  well-guarded,  no  portion  of  them  can  be  taken  with- 
out permission  from  the  guardians,  who  are  careful  not  to  de- 
stroy a  very  profitable  source  of  income  by  destroying  the  trees. 
For  a  few  piasters,  however,  a  good  deal  can  be  done  even  in 
the  Garden  of  Gethsemane  ;  twigs  and  leaves  and  pieces  of 
roots  can  be  bought  by  a  little  persuasion,  and  a  little  more 
backskish  to  overcome  any  lingering  scruples  of  conscience  on 
the  part  of  the  custodians.  Wicked  as  it  was  to  do  it,  I  thought 
so  much  of  my  friends  at  home,  that  I  violated  my  own  con- 
science and  that  of  an  old  priest  several  times,  in  order  to  get 
a  good  supply  of  the  sacred  relics. 

Near  the  Golden  Gate,  which  faces  the  valley  of  Jehosa- 
phat,  stands  the  ruin  of  a  Mohammedan  sepulchre.  I  was 
greatly  struck  by  the  lonely  and  desolate  aspect  of  the  place  ; 
and  made  a  sketch  of  the  ruin,  including  a  few  of  the  sur 
rounding  objects. 


JERUSALEM. 


363 


MOHAMMEDAN   SEPULCHRE. 


In  my  rambles  about  Jerusalem,  I  passed  on  several  occa- 
'ions  through  the  qtiarter'of  the  Lepers.  Apart  from  the  in- 
,erest  attached  to  this  unfortunate  class  of  beings  (arising  from 
the  frequent'  allusion  made  to  them  in  the  Scriptures),  there  is 
much  in  their  appearance  and  mode  of  life  to  attract  atten- 
tion and  enlist  the  sympathy  of  the  stranger.  Dirt  and  dis- 
ease go  revoltingly  together  here  ;  gaunt  famine  stalks  through 
the  streets ;  a  constant  moan  of  suffering  swells  upon  the  dead 
air,  and  sin  broods  darkly  over  the  ruin  it  has  wrought  in  that 
gloomy  and  ill-fated  spot.  Wasted  forms  sit  in  the  doorways ; 
faces  covered  with  white  scales  and  sightless  eyes  are  turned 
upward  ;  skeleton  arms,  distorted  and  fetid  with  the  ravages 
of  leprosy,  are  outstretched  from  the  foul  moving  mass  ;  and  a 
low  howl  is  heard,  the  howl  of  the  stricken  for  alms  ;  alms, 
0  stranger,  for  the  love  of  God  !  alms  to  feed  the  inexorable 
destroyer  !  alms  to  prolong  this  dreary  and  hopeless  misery  ! 
Look  upon  it,  stranger,  you  who  walk  forth  in  all  your  pride 
and  strength  and  breathe  the  fresh  air  of  heaven ;  you  who 
have  never  known  what  it  is  to  be  shunned  by  your  fellow- 
man  as  a  thing  unclean  and  accursed  ;  you  who  deem  your- 
self unblcst  with  all  the  blessings  that  God  has  given  you  upon 


364  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

earth  ;  look  upon  it  and  learn  that  there  is  a  misery  beyond  alj 
that  you  have  conceived  in  your  gloomiest  hours — a  misery 
that  can  still  be  endured ;  learn  that  even  the  Leper,  with 
death  gnawing  at  his  vitals  and  unceasing  tortures  in  his 
blood,  cast  out  from  the  society  of  his  fellow-man,  forbidden  to 
touch  in  friendship  or  affection  the  hand  of  the  untainted,  still 
struggles  for  life,  and  deems  each  hour  precious  that  keeps  him 
from  the  grave. 

The  quarter  of  the  Lepers  is  a  sad  arid  impressive  place. 
By  the  laws  of  the  land,  which  have  existed  from  scriptural 
times,  they  are  isolated  from  all  contact  with  their  fellow-men ; 
yet  there  seems  to  be  no  prohibition  to  their  going  out  beyond 
the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  and  begging  by  the  roadside.  Near 
the  gate  of  Zion,  on  the  way  to  Bethlehem,  I  saw  many  of 
them  sitting  on  the  rocks,  their  hideous  faces  uncovered, 
thrusting  forth  their  scaly  hands  for  alms.  Their  huts  are 
rudely  constructed  of  earth  and  stones,  seldom  with  more 
than  one  apartment,  and  this  so  filthy  and  loathsome  that  it 
seemed  unfit  to  be  occupied  by  swine.  Here  they  live,  whole 
families  together,  without  distinction  of  sex  ;  and  their  dread- 
ful malady  is  perpetuated  from  generation  to  generation,  and 
the  groans  of  the  aged  and  the  dying  are  mingled  with  the 
feeble  wail  of  the  young  that  are  brought  forth  branded  for  a 
life  of  misery.  Strange  and  mournful  thoughts  arise,  in  the 
contemplation  of  the  sad  condition  and  probable  destiny  of 
these  ill-fated  beings.  Among  so  many,  there  must  be  some 
in  whose  breasts  the  power  of  true  love  is  implanted  ;  love  for 
woman  in  its  purest  sense,  for  offspring,  for  all  the  endear- 
ments of  domestic  life  which  the  untainted  are  capable  of 
feeling  ;  yet  doomed  never  to  exercise  the  affections  without 
perpetuating  the  curse  !  some,  too,  in  whom  there  are  hidden 
powers  of  mind,  unknown  save  to  themselves  ;  ambition  that 
corrodes  with  unavailing  aspirations ;  a  thirst  for  action  that 
burns  within  unceasingly,  yet  never  can  be  assuaged  ;  all  the 
ruling  passions  that  are  implanted  in  man  for  great  and  noble 
purposes,  never,  never  to  give  one  moment's  pleasure  unmixer1 
with  the  perpetual -gloom  of  that  curse  which  dwells  in  their 
blood 


JERUSALEM.  36ft 

As  I  plodded  my  way  for  the  last  time  through  this  den  of 
sickening  sights,  a  vision  of  human  misery  was  impressed  upon 
my  mind  that  time  can  not  efface.  I  passed  when  the  rays 
of  the  sun  were  cold  and  the  light  was  dim  ;  and  there  camo 
out  from  the  reeking  hovels  leprous  men,  gaunt  with  famine, 
and  they  hared  their  hideous  bodies,  and  howled  like  heasts ; 
and  women  held  out  their  loathsome  and  accursed  hahes,  and 
tore  away  the  rags  that  covered  them,  and  pointing  to  the 
shapeless  mass,  shrieked  for  alms.  All  was  disease  and  sin 
and  sorrow  wherever  I  went ;  and  as  I  passed  on,  unahle  to 
relieve  a  thousandth  part  of  the  misery,  moans  of  despair  and 
howling  curses  followed  me,  and  the  Lepers  crawled  back  into 
their  hovels  to  rot  in  their  filth  and  die  when  God  willed. 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 

ARAB    GUARD    TO    THE    DEAD    SEA. 

A  MESSENGER  from  the  Sheik  of  Jericho  called  upon  us  this 
morning  to  let  us  know  that  the  Arab  guard  was  ready  to 
conduct  us  to  the  Dead  Sea  and  the  Jordan.  He  assured  us 
we  would  have  no  trouble  with  the  Bedouins  with  such  a 
guard ;  they  were  all  terrible  fellows,  whom  the  Bedouins 
knew  too  well  to  attack ;  for,  praised  be  Allah,  they  had  killed 
Borne  hundreds  of  the  rascals  already,  and  would  kill  some 
hundreds  more  before  long.  It  was  a  great  source  of  consola- 
tion to  be  protected  in  this  efficient  manner ;  for  I  must  con- 
fess it  was  rather  startling  to  hear  the  strange  stories  that 
•were  told  of  the  way  in  which  travelers  were  attacked  and 
murdered,  or  carried  off  into  the  deserts  and  never  heard  of 
again.  I  expected  to  see  twenty  able-bodied  men,  well-drill- 
ed, and  armed  to  the  teeth,  because  it  seemed  as  if  it  would 
require  that  number  of  men,  and  men  of  that  kind,  to  slay  so 
many  Bedouins.  They  were  down  at  Job's  well,  he  said, 
waiting  for  us ;  and  meantime  he  would  receive  the  two 
hundred  piasters  for  the  Sheik,  and  forty  piasters  for  the  men. 
The  latter  sum  was  to  be  devoted  to  the  purchase  of  a  sheep, 
and  the  sheep  was  to  be  roasted  on  the  banks  of  the  Jordan, 
and  the  men  were  to  eat  it.  This  was  my  understanding  of 
the  case  when  I  paid  my  share  of  the  forty  piasters ;  and  I 
did  it  the  more  willingly  because  I  was  fond  of  sheep  roasted 
in  this  way,  and  anticipated  taking  some  part  in  the  feast. 
But  here  let  me  record  a  notable  fact :  the  sheep  is  a  hum- 
bug. To  the  best  of  my  belief,  there  never  was  such  a  sheep 
killed  or  roasted  by  the  Arab  guard.  If  such  a  sheep  be  in 
existence  at  all,  it  is  just  as  likely  to  die  a  natural  death  as 
the  Bedouins  when  shot  at  by  these  same  Arabs. 

Bidding  good-by  to  our  worthy  comrade,  the  English  Cap- 
tain, who  had  madn  up  his  mind  to  return  to  Beirut,  we  passed 


THE  ARAB  GUARD  TO  THE  DEAD  SEA. 


367 


out  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Jaffa  gate,  and  went  down  to  Job's  well. 
There  was  no  guard  there  ;  not  the  sign  of  a  guard  ;  nothing 
but  the  well  and  two  asses.  So,  having  nothing  better  to  do, 
we  (my  friend  and  myself,  and  not  the  asses)  sat  down  on 
the  top  of  the  stone  wall  and  amused  ourselves  throwing  peb- 
bles into  the  well.  It  appeared  to  be  very  deep — perhaps 
about  a  hundred  feet.  I  had  no  doubt  at  all  of  its  antiquity. 
It  looked  old  enough ;  but  whether  Job  had  authorized  the 
naming  of  this  spot  after  him,  or  whether  it  was  merely  a 
freak  of  fancy  on  the  part  of  the  Latin  monks,  we  could  not 
tell.  Historians  differ  so  much  touching  the  location  of  these 
wells  and  their  right  names,  that  I  was  always  content  to  let 
them  settle  the  knotty  points,  and  thank  God  for  the  fresh 
water,  when  I  found  any.  A  queer,  ruinous  old  place  Job's 
well  was,  consisting  of  a  very  deep  hole  in  the  solid  rock,  with 
a  pile  of  broken  walls  and  a  rnoss-covered  dome  over  it,  in 
the  Judean  style,  built  perhaps  some  few  centuries  ago  ;  for 
I  believe  no  historian  pretends  that  any  thing  but  the  well 
itself  can  be  traced  to  scriptural  times.  It  lies  in  a  blanched 
and  arid  valley  of  rocks,  close  down  by  the  loot  of  Mount  Zion. 


PILGRIMS   ON    THE    ROAD   TO   JERUSALEM. 


368  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

All  along  the  road  coming  from  Mar  Saba  were  long  lines 
of  pilgrims,  mostly  on  foot,  some  mounted  upon  camels  and 
donkeys,  and  all  wending  their  way  toward  Jerusalem.  They 
had  been  to  the  Greek  convent,  and  were  returning  after  the 
ceremonies.  The  priests  wore  long  beards  and  flowing  robes, 
and  the  common  pilgrims  were  ragged  and  barefooted,  and 
walked  at  a  weary  pace  with  their  heads  bowed  down.  I 
never  saw  any  thing  that  so  impressed  me  with  the  idea  of 
earnest  devotion.  With  scarce  clothes  enough  to  cover  their 
nakedness,  poor  and  friendless,  many  of  these  way-worn  pil- 
grims had  wandered  from  their  far  off-homes,  over  mountains 
and  deserts,  through  scorching  suns  and  dreary  wastes,  to  lay 
their  bones  near  the  Sacred  City. 

While  we  were  sitting  upon  the  top  of  the  ruin,  there  came 
out  from  among  the  rocks  close  by  a  ragged  Arab,  of  most 
uncouth  aspect,  with  a  long  gun  hung  over  his  shoulders  and 
a  rusty  sword  swinging  by  his  side.  An  old  pistol  and  a 
crooked  knife  were  thrust  in  his  sash,  which  was  long  and 
flashy,  but  defaced  by  the  dirt  of  ages.  All  the  colors  of  the 
rainbow  were  combined  in  his  turban,  his  tawdry  vestments, 
and  scanty  breeches,  and  his  nose  was  hooked  like  an  eagle's, 
and  his  eyes  flashed  and  wandered  like  the  eyes  of  some  wild 
beast  that  had  been  caught  not  long  before.  I  declare,  within 
bounds,  that  he  was  the  most  ferocious,  unshaved,  unwashed, 
and  dilapidated  looking  vagabond  I  had  seen  in  all  my  trav- 
els, and  it  was  not  without  suspicion  that  I  watched  him  as 
he  approached,  and  a  lurking  fear  that  there  were  more  of 
the  same  kind  not  far  off.  Sure  enough,  out  came  another 
pretty  soon,  just  as  if  the  ground  had  opened  and  let  him 
through  from  some  infernal  region  below ;  and  another  soon 
after,  rubbing  his  eyes ;  and  then  another  waking  himself  up 
too,  all  armed  like  the  first,  with  long  guns  mounted  all  over 
with  brass,  and  rusty  swords,  and  old  pistols  fastened  in  their 
sashes,  and  all  looking  so  ragged  and  hungry,  and  so  much 
like  genuine  robbers,  that  I  involuntarily  turned  to  see  if 
Yusef  had  brought  his  fire-arms  to  bear  upon  them.  My  chief 
dependence  was  upon  Yusef,  for  I  never  carried  any  weapon 
of  defense  except  a  penknife,  and  my  companion  was  likewise 


THE  AEAB  GUARD  TO  THE  DEAD  SEA.     36> 

unarmed.  Besides,  Yusef  had  a  courageous  and  bkod-thirsty 
disposition,  as  he  repeatedly  avowed,  and  delighted  in  nothing 
so  much  as  in  killing  people,  which  I  was  not  naturally  fond 
of,  apart  from  the  risk  of  killing  myself  by  carrying  deadly 
weapons.  I  had  always  felt  a  presentiment  that,  if  I  carried 
a  revolver  or  pistol  of  any  kind  in  my  pocket,  it  would  go  off 
and  disable  me  for  life  ;  hence  I  never  carried  any  thing  more 
deadly  than  a  penknife,  and  that  I  was  resolved  not  to  use  in 
the  way  of  violence  unless  driven  to  the  last  extremity. 

Instead  of  rushing  upon  these  fellows,  however,  brandishing 
his  guns,  pistols,  and  swords,  as  was  his  habit  when  nothing 
was  in  sight,  Yusef  greeted  them  with  a  kindly  salaam,  say- 
ing, "Good-morning,  friends;  how  do  you  do?"  to  which 
they  answered  in  the  same  friendly  strain  ;  and  a  great  many 
compliments  passed,  as  I  supposed  from  the  flowery  style  of 
the  conversation  that  ensued.  Yusef  passed  his  chibouck 
around,  and  they  all  sat  down  and  began  to  talk  with  great 
animation  and  a  rapidity  of  utterance  that  would  have  aston- 
ished me  had  I  not  become  rather  used  to  it.  Even  as  it 
was,  I  thought  some  of  them  would  certainly 'choke  in  getting 
out  so  many  raking  gutturals  at  once.  The  talk  did  not  seem 
at  all  likely  to  come  to  an  end  short  of  two  or  three  hours. 
At  last  I  made  bold  to  come  down  from  the  top  of  the  wall 
and  ask  what  they  wanted.  "  Nothing,  0  prince  of  Generals," 
said  Yusef;  "  only  to  take  you  to  the  Dead  Sea."  "  Do  you 
mean  to  say,  thou  vilest  of  dragomans,  that  this  is  the  Arab 
guard  sent  here  by  the  Sheik  of  Jericho  to  protect  us  against 
the  Bedouins?"  "I  do,  0  General!  It  is  verily  the  Arab 
guard."  "  For  which  we  paid  two  hundred  piasters,  and 
forty  piasters  for  the  roast  sheep  ?"  "  Yea,  the  same ;  verily 
the  same,  on  my  sacred  honor  as  a  dragoman ;  only  there 
will  be  another  man  before  we  reach  Mar  Saba." 

I  looked  at  their  guns,  which  were  pointed  in  various  di- 
rections ;  said  nothing,  but  secretly  hoped  the  other  man 
would  not  be  a  corpse.  For  you  perceive  the  expected  guard 
of  twenty  that  were  to  insure  our  lives  had  been  reduced  to 
eleven  imaginary  men  before  we  arrived  at  Job's  well.  It 
now  consisted  of  four  actual  beggarly  varlets.  Each  carried 

o* 


370 


A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 


a  long  gun,  as  already  stated,  and  each  had  a  dangerous  way 
of  carrying  it  across  his  back,  or  over  his  shoulders,  or  under 
his  arms  ;  so  that  there  were  stocks  and  muzzles  ranging  all 
round.  It  was  utterly  impossible  for  one  of  these  guns  to  go 
off  without  killing  somebody.  As  we  rode  on  down  the  val- 
ley the  fifth  man  joined  us ;  and  when  I  saw  that  his  gun 
was  longer,  if  any  thing,  than  the  rest,  and  was  carried  so  as 
to  take  a  still  wider  range,  I  at  once  committed  myself  to 
Providence,  under  the  conviction  that  if  there  was  any  shoot- 
ing to  be  done  it  would  not  be  the  Bedouins  that  would  suffer, 
but  we  who  rode  behind  the  guard  ;  and  especially  I  dreaded 
this  result  when  I  came  to  think  that  there  might  be  powder 
in  the  pans  and  slugs  in  the  barrels,  and  that  the  powder 
might  take  fire  if  the  locks  should  once  get  to  going.  In  faith, 
so  impressed  was  I  with  this  idea  that  I  fully  made  up  rny 
mind  to  call  these  fellows  aside  the  very  first  chance,  and 
prevail  upon  them  by  a  heavy  backslash  to  discharge  their 
guns  at  some  rock  or  tree,  and  keep  them  unloaded  until  we 
were  attacked  by  the  Bedouins ;  and  it  was  my  settled  de- 
termination, in  the  event  of  such  an  attack,  to  join  the  Be- 
douin party  at  once,  and  remain  on  that  side  till  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  fight. 


THE    ARAB    GUARD. 


CHAPTER  XLVHI. 

THE  DEAD  SEA  AND  THE  JORDAN. 

OUR  ride  to  Mar  Saba,  notwithstanding  the  guns  of  the 
Arab  guard,  was  devoid  of  any  incident  worth  relating. 
The  distance  in  point  of  time  is  about  three  hours  from  Jeru- 
salem. The  road  lies  mostly  between  two  ranges  of  craggy 
bluffs,  almost  destitute  of  vegetation,  and  entirely  uninhabited. 
On  the  left  we  saw  the  caverns  in  which  the  monks  lived, 
before  the  general  massacre  by  the  Turks,  in  which  some 
thousands  were  brutally  butchered.  These  caves  are  now 
only  inhabited  by  goats.  Some  of  the  bones  and  skulls  of 
the  murdered  monks  are  still  scattered  about  the  rocks.  The 
Wady  is  of  a  very  singular  geological  formation,  and  bears 
the  appearance  of  having  at  some  remote  period  formed,  the 
bed  of  a  river.  I  am  not  aware  of  any  theory  having  been 
formed  on  the  subject,  but  it  struck  rne  as  not  improbable 
that  this  may  have  been  the  original  outlet  of  the  Jordan, 
after  passing  through  the  Dead  Sea.  That  a  stream  of  water 
so  deep  and  rapid  should  continually  pour  into  so  small  a 
sea,  and  lose  itself  in  evaporation,  does  not  seem  reasonable. 
But  the  question  remains,  where  it  does  it  go  now,  or  how 
can  it  fall  into  the  Mediterranean,  if  the  surface  of  the  Dead 
Sea  be,  as  scientific  explorers  have  determined,  considerably 
below  the  level  of  any  other  sea  into  which  it  could  flow  ? 
According  to  the  most  authentic  English  measurement  the 
depression  is  1311  feet,  9  inches.  Lieut.  Lynch  gives  it  at  1316 
feet,  7  inches.  The  subject  involves  some  curious  questions, 
but  is  rather  too  profound  for  a  casual  traveler.  Having  seen 
it  stated,  however,  that  a  recent  corps  of  French  engineers 
have  decided  the  depression  to  be  much  less  than  either  of 


372  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

these  estimates  (I  have  forgotten  the  exact  measurement,  but 
believe  it  is  about  ten  or  fifteen  feet),  may  it  not  be  that 
there  is  a  mistake  in  the  instruments  ?  that  by  a  little  more 
measuring  it  may  be  discovered  that  the  Dead  Sea  is  rather 
higher,  if  any  thing,  than  the  Mediterranean  ? 

If  a  difference  of  five,  ten,  twenty,  or  fifty  feet  can  be  made 
by  half  a  dozen  corps  of  learned  explorers,  the  only  question 
that  remains  is,  how  many  will  it  take  to  bring  it  up  to  its 
proper  level,  so  that  the  water  may  flow  out  naturally,  with- . 
out  subjecting  the  unlearned  traveler  to  perplexing  and  un- 
profitable conjectures. 

Turning  ofF  a  little  from  the  highway,  we  took  a  walled 
road  on  the  right,  to  Deir  Mar  Saba,  and  were  soon  in  front 
of  the  convent  gate.  We  had  a  letter  of  introduction  from 
the  patriarch  of  the  Greek  convent  in  Jerusalem  to  his  brother 
of  St.  Saba,  for  which  we  paid  about  a  dollar.  This  pre- 
caution of  an  introduction  is  deemed  necessary  in  order  to 
provide  against  any  secret  attack  upon  the  monks.  The  gate 
is  always  kept  closed,  and  a  guard  is  stationed  on  the  watch- 
tower  who  gives  notice  of  the  approach  of  strangers.  Re 
peated  depredations  committed  upon  the  monks  by  the  Be- 
douins and  others,  and  the -isolated  position  of  the  convent, 
have  given  rise  to  these  precautions.  Our  letter  was  pulled 
up  in  a  little  box  to  a  high  window,  and  read  by  the  patriarch ; 
after  which  we  were  let  in  through  a  small  door,  and  led 
down  a  great  many  stone  steps  into  the  little  building  set 
apart  for  the  accommodation  of  travelers. 

We  found  our  quarters  very  clean  and  comfortable ;  the 
fare  good  and  the  Greek  patriarch  very  friendly  and  obliging. 
He  showed  us  all  the  curiosities  of  the  convent,  including  the 
room-full  of  skulls,  the  date-tree  planted  by  St.  Saba,  the 
skull  of  St.  Saba  himself,  the  pictorial  temple  in  which  the 
works  of  that  distinguished  saint  are  duly  represented  on  the 
walls,  and  numerous  strange  grottoes  and  chapels  dug  into 
the  solid  rocks.  A  very  queer,  picturesque  old  place  is  the 
Convent  of  St.  Saba  ;  and  any  traveler  who  has  the  time  can 
not  better  employ  it  than  by  spending  a  few  days  there, 
rambling  through  its  vaults  and  chapels,  and  studying  the 


THE  DEAD  SEA  AND  THE  JORDAN.  373 

remarkable  history  of  its  founder,  which  is  full  of  wild  ro- 
mance. 

At  an  early  hour  in  the  morning,  we  mounted  our  horses, 
outside  the  gate,  and  set  off  with  our  Arab  guard  for  the 
Dead  Sea.  The  road  is  wild  and  desolate  beyond  conception 
Not  a  living  thing  was  to  be  seen  for  miles  on  the  wayside 
All  around  was  blasted  and  sterile.  A  few  sickly  shrubs 
grew  along  the  ravines,  through  which  we  passed  on  our 
journey.  From  the  top  of  the  highest  mountain  we  beheld  a 
glistening  sheet  of  water,  far  down  below,  encircled  by  rocky 
heights.  It  was  the  Bahr  el  Lut — the  Sea  of  Lot. 

Winding  out  from  a  deep  gorge,  we  came  upon  the  plain. 
As  we  toiled  slowly  along  the  dried  bed  of  a  water-course, 
we  saw  behind  the  banks  of  earth  some  Arabs,  armed  with 
guns,  but  as  we  drew  near  they  skulked  away,  and  we  saw 
them  no  more.  Doubtless  they  were  spies  from  Jericho,  watch 
ing  to  see  if  we  were  accompanied  by  the  usual  guard.  A 
jackall,  started  from  his  lair,  fled  up  on  a  bare  mound,  where 
he  sat  licking  his  lips.  Nothing  more  occurred  till  we  arrived 
at  the  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea. 

We  dismounted  and  walked  down  upon  the  beach.  A 
sultry  mist  hung  over  the  mountains,  and  the  air  was  still 
and  heavy.  There  was  a  low  sad  moaning  from  the  surf,  a» 
it  rolled  over  upon  the  long  slopes  of  mud  with  its  thick  and 
slimy  foam ;  and  when  I  dipped  up  a  handful  of  it  and 
swallowed  it  down,  I  was  not  surprised  that  there  were  no 
fish  to  be  found  there.  It  did  seem  even  that  a  few  strange 
birds  that  came  wheeling  down  over  it,  turned  away  again 
out  of  the  pestilent  air.  Dwarfish  shrubs,  gnarled  and  leaf- 
less, grew  in  the  mud,  back  from  the  beach.  Along  toward 
the  Jordan  was  a  low  morass,  with  dank  weeds  in  it,  and  all 
around  the  weeds  and  rushes  were  stricken  with  the  death- 
spirit,  and  drooped  and  withered,  or  lay  rotting  on  the  foul 
earth.  Verily  the  ban  of  God  is  upon  the  land  ;  "it  mourn- 
eth  and  fadeth  away." 

We  filled  our  tin  cans  with  the  bitter  water ;  and,  upon 
returning  to  the  mound  of  earth  upon  which  our  horses  stood, 
in  the  distance  a  large  party  of  mounted  horsemen.  At 


374  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

first  we  thought  they  were  Bedouins,  and  there  was  the  most 
intense  anxiety  and  consternation  on  all  sides.  Yusef  turned 
ghastly  pale,  and  said  that  the  water  made  him  sick  ;  but  no 
sooner  did  he  catch  sight  of  a  horseman,  who  dashed  out  of 
the  front  ranks  of  the  approaching  party,  than  he  set  up  a 
frightful  yell  of  defiance,  plunged  spurs  into  his  horse,  and  set 
out  furiously  to  meet  him,  and  settle  the  thing  by  single  combat. 
Long  before  the  rival  warriors  met,  .they  commenced  firing 
their  pistols  and  guns  in  the  air,  and  when  they  did  at  last  come 
together,  they  grappled  each  other  by  the  neck,  and  I  thought 
it  was  the  most  dreadful  scene  I  ever  witnessed  to  see  them 
thus  twisted  up  in  a  struggle  of  life  or  death.  But  it  was 
neither  a  struggle  of  life  nor  of  death,  as  we  soon  discovered ; 
it  was  only  a  struggle  of  love — pure  devotion  of  heart  between 
Yusef  Badra'and  his  friend  Emanuel  Balthos. 

In  a  few  moments  the  whole  party  came  up,  headed  by 
the  Catholic  Bishop  of  Jerusalem,  arid  a  dozen  priests.  It 
was  the  party  of  Dr.  Mendoza.  Nothing  could  exceed  the 
devotion  of  the  Bishop,  and  all  his  followers,  to  the  interests 
of  Dr.  Mendoza  and  the  Madam.  Being  all  of  the  same 
religion,  there  was  a  bond  of  sympathy  between  them  from 
the  first  moment  of  their  meeting  in  Jerusalem.  They  guided 
the  Doctor  and  the  Madam  all  about  Jerusalem,  showed  them 
all  the  relics  of  antiquity,  gave  them  the  best  rooms  in  the 
convent ;  never  let  them  go  out  of  sight  a  single  moment ; 
attended  them  even  to  the  Dead  Sea,  all  from  motives  of  the 
purest  regard,  and  without  even  a  hint  at  money.  What 
could  the  Doctor  do.  in  return  but  make  a  handsome  present 
of  a  hundred  pounds  to  the  convent,  and  a  little  pocket-money 
to  these  strangers  in  a  strange  land  ? 

"We  were  all  delighted  at  this  meeting  on  the  shores  of  the 
Dead  Sea.  No  sooner  had  we  met  and  shaken  hands,  than 
por.tor  Mendoza  expressed  himself  in  the  following  manner  : 

"  Bad  eoimtree  dis.  Convenience  for  sleep  in  Jericho  not 
good.  I  have  drink  de  water  of  de  Dead  Sea  and  no  like. 
De  Madam  also  drink :  consequent  he  are  indispose.  We 
shail  proceed  to  Jerusalem.  'Tis  imposs  to  exiss  in  dis  coun- 
tree.  I  shall  be  content  to  depart  for  Beirut." 


THE  DEAD  SEA  AND  THE  JORDAN.      375 

After  much  pleasant  conversation  in  the  same  strain,  we 
shocks  hands  again  and  parted  ;  Doctor  Mendoza  and  his  de- 
voted followers  for  St.  Saba,  and  we  for  the  Jordan  and  Jericho. 

We  rode  along  the  beach  for  some  miles,  and  then  struck 
off  into  a  morass,  through  which  our  horses  plunged  and  stag- 
gered for  some  miles  farther,  till  we  reached  a  higher  part  of 
the  plain  and  found  a  mule-path  leading  to  the  Jordan.  Our 
Arab  guard  evinced  the  most  intense  anxiety  as  we  drew 
near  the  boundary  of  the  Bedouin  country.  As  to  Yusef,  he 
never  was  more  cool  and  collected  in  the  absolute  presence 
of  the  most  dangerous  foe.  For  more  than  an  hour  he 
scarcely  uttered  a  word ;  but  with  looks  of  the  most  profound 
indifference,  reined  up  his  steed  of  the  desert,  and  rode  along 
in  our  very  midst,  as  if  he  had  no  further  thought  of  the 
Bedouins  than  to  be  the  central  point  of  attack  when  the 
fighting  commenced. 

In  good  time,  we  drew  up  our  horses  on  the  banks  of  the 
river.  While  our  guard  were  busily  engaged  in  disposing  of 
their  forces  on  the  tops  of  the  neighboring  hills,  so  as  to  be 
as  far  away  from  the  Bedouin  country  as  possible  in  order 
that  they  might  enjoy  a  more  extended  view  of  it,  and  cut 
off  all  stragglers  that  might  come  in  their  direction,  we  dis- 
mounted and  indulged  in  various  reflections  concerning  the 
Jordan.  The  conclusion  that  I  came  to  was  this :  I  was 
greatly  astonished  to  find  the  river  Jordan  no  bigger  than 
what  we  call  a  creek  in  the  back- woods  of  America  ;  and 
resolved  in  all  my  future  readings  about  rivers,  lakes  and 
seas  in  the  old  world,  to  look  at  them  through  an  inverted 
imagination.  I  stood  at  the  water's  edge,  and  tossed  a  peb- 
ble across  to  the  other  side  with  all  ease.  It  was  not  more 
than  thirty  yards  wide  at  most ;  and  although  the  current 
was  swift,  yet  it  was  impossible  to  get  quite  rid  of  the  idea 
that  the  Jordan,  so  famed  throughout  the  whole  civilized 
world,  must  be  somewhere  farther  on,  and  this  little  stream 
only  one  of  its  tributaries.  Why  it  was  I  thought  so,  it 
would  be  impossible  to  say  ;  but  I  certainly  must  admit 
that  I  never  was  so  disappointed  in  regard  to  the  size  of  a 
river  in  my  life. 


376  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

The  sheep  for  which  we  had  paid  the  messenger  of  the  Sheik 
of  Jericho,  forty  piasters,  was  not  roasted  here  by  the  Arab 
guard  according  to  contract ;  but  fortunately  Yusef  had  pro- 
vided himself  with  a  cold  leg  of  mutton  for  us  in  Jerusalem, 
which  we  devoured  with  amazing  relish  after  our  ride,  and 
he  also  gave  us  some  brown  bread  which  he  had  thought- 
fully smuggled  into  his  bag  at  the  Convent  of  St.  Saba,  and 
which  we  washed  down  with  copious  draughts  of  water  out 
of  the  Jordan.  While  we  were  thus  sitting  on  a  conspic- 
uous part  of  the  bank,  eating,  our  lunch,  I  could  not  but 
think  that  we  afforded  an  excellent  mark  for  any  prowling 
Bedouins  that  might  be  concealed  in  the  bushes  on  the  other 
side ;  and  on  that  account,  as  well  as  because  of  my  origi- 
nal disappointment,  I  sincerely  wished  that  the  river  was  as 
wide  as  the  Ohio.  Every  time  I  looked  over  into  the  Be- 
douin country,  I  expected  to  see  a  dozen  guns  pointed  at  my 
head  ;  and  this  notion  became  at  length  so  unpleasant,  that 
in  order  to  divert  my  thoughts  from  so  painful  a  view  of 
the  subject,  I  called  to  Yusef,  who  was  standing  behind  a  tree 
not  far  off,  priming  his  pistols,  to  come  and  sit  down  opposite 
to  me,  and  give  me  a  detailed  history  of  the  affair  with  the 
six  Bedouins,  whom  he  had  slain  on  his  last  journey  through 
Syria.  It  struck  me  as  a  little  singular  that  he  did  not  ex- 
hibit his  usual  alacrity  in  obeying  this  summons,  especially 
on  a  subject  so  congenial  to  his  nature  ;  I  therefore  repeated 
it  with  some  warmth  ;  upon  which  he  reluctantly  left  his 
station,  and  seated  himself  close  behind  me,  when  he  imme- 
diately began  to  give  me  a  rapid  account  of  this  remarkable 
affair.  Finding  myself  unable  to  hear  him  distinctly,  with 
my  back  turned  toward  him,  I  requested  him  to  sit  opposite 
rne,  which  he  very  reluctantly  did.  Indeed  it  was  evident 
that  something  preyed  upon  his  mind,  for  often  as  I  had 
heard  him  repeat  the  story,  I  never  before  knew  him  to  omit 
the  part  where  he  had  pinned  two  of  the  Bedouins  to  a  tree 
with  a  single  thrust  of  his  sword.  On  this  occasion,  his  chief 
concern  seemed  to  be  to  get  through  as  soon  as  possible  ;  and 
he  frequently  looked  behind  him  to  the  other  side  of  the  river, 
as  if  he  thought  we  might  eventually  be  compelled  to  depart 


ARAB  GUARD  TO  THE  DEAD  SEA.       377 

for  Jericho  without  even  a  skirmish  with  the  rascally  inhabit- 
ants of  the  Bedouin  country.  I  afterward  found  that  I  was 
quite  right  in  my  suspicion  as  to  the  cause  of  his  anxiety ; 
for  he  assured  me,  after  we  had  mounted  our  horses  and  left 
the  river  some  distance  behind  us,  that  such  indeed  was  the 
case,  and  that  he  had  a  great  mind  to  go  hack  again  and 
spend  the  night  there  watching  for  them. 

Having  finished  my  lunch  about  the  same  time  that  Yusef 
got  through  killing  the  six  Bedouins,  I  took  my  tin  can  which 
I  had  purchased  in  Jerusalem,  and  accompanied  by  my  friend 
the  tall  Southerner,  who  was  quietly  smoking  his  chibouck 
most  of  this  time,  went  down  to  the  river  and  filled  it  with 
water  for  the  benefit  of  some  acquaintances  at  home.  Every 
drop  of  that  water,  I  intended  distributing  with  miserly  dis-' 
cretion,  and  when  I  came  to  the  last  drop  it  was  my  design 
to  fill  the  can  again  with  fresh  water  out  of  the  nearest 
pump,  and  still  protest  on  my  veracity,  as  a  traveler,  that 
it  contained  water  which  I  had  myself  dipped  up  out  of  the 
Jordan. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

THRILLING    ALARM    IN    JERICHO. 

A  n  EASANT  ride  of  three  hours  from  the  banks  of  the  Jor- 
dan brought  us  to  the  reputed  site  of  Jericho.  Nothing  re- 
mains of  the  ancient  city,  and  I  believe  it  is  admitted  by  the 
best  authorities  on  scriptural  history,  that  there  is  no  ground 
for  the  'assumption  that  this  was  the  location  of  Jericho.  It 
is  not  even  rendered  probable  by  any  reasonable  conclusions 
from  historical  evidence.  Without  entering  into  that  ques- 
tion, we  had  sufficient  to  do  to  credit  our  senses,  when  we 
were  told  that  we  were  in  the  midst  of  the  village,  and  that 
there  was  no  other  village  than  what  we  saw  around  us.  A 
ruinous  old  Khan,  eight  or  ten  wigwams  built  of  mud  and 
bushes  ;  half  a  dozen  lazy  Arabs  lying  about  on  piles  of  rub- 
bish, smoking  their  pipes ;  a  few  cows,  sheep  and  goats, 
browsing  on  the  stunted  bushes ;  some  mangy-looking  dogs, 
engaged  in  devouring  the  carcass  of  a  dead  mule,  and  a  few 
hungry  crows  waiting  near  by  for  a  share  in  the  feast,  were 
all  the  signs  of  habitation  and  life  that  we  could  see  about 
Jericho.  The  Khan  stands  at  a  distance  of  a  few  hundred 
yards  from  the  huts  or  wigwams,  and  is  said  to  be  occupied 
at  present  by  a  Turkish  guard  of  twenty-five  soldiers,  sta- 
tioned there  by  the  Pasha  of  Jerusalem,  to  protect  the  people 
of  Jericho  from  the  Bedouins.  We  saw  nothing  of  the  sold- 
iers. Doubtless  they  were  asleep,  and  the  probability  is  that 
they  had  been  asleep  ever  since  their  departure  from  Jeru- 
salem. It  appeared,  from  all  we  could  learn,  that  in  con- 
sequence of  the  depredations  committed  by  the  Bedouins  upon 
travelers  visiting  the  Dead  Sea  and  Jordan,  and  also  upon 
the  Arabs,  living  in  the  villages  on  this  side  of  the  river,  that 
the  Turkish  authorities  of  Jerusalem  had  agreed  to  furnish 


THRILLING  ALARM  IN  JERICHO.  379 

the  Sheiks,  numbering  five,  "with  this  guard  for  their  protec- 
tion, and  as  an  equivalent  had  caused  them  to  enter  into  stip- 
ulations for  the  safe  conduct  of  all  travelers  to  those  places, 
holding  them  responsible  for  any  loss  by  robbery  or  plunder, 
and  allowing  them  to  exact  a  hundred  piasters  from  each 
traveler  in  payment  of  their  services.  This  tariff  upon  pil- 
grims a  fiords  the  Sheiks  and  their  dependents  their  princi- 
pal means  of  support.  The  guards  are  not  very  expensive, 
in  point  of  equipment,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  specimens 
with  which  we  were  favored ;  nor  does  it  appear  that  they 
exercise  any  very  salutary  eftect  upon  the  Bedouins,  since 
there  appear  to  be  quite  as  many  robberies  committed  now 
as  there  were  before  this  arrangement.  It  is  essential  to 
have  them,  nevertheless,  for  depending  as  they  do  chiefly 
upon  Frank  pilgrims  for  their  support,  they  contrive  when 
cheated  of  their  profits  by  a  refusal  to  take  advantage  of  their 
protection,  to  do  the  robbing  themselves  ;  and  this  being  re- 
garded by  the  Turkish  authorities  as  a  matter  between  them- 
selves and  the  Franks,  it  is  seldom  noticed.  Each  of  the  five 
Sheiks,  belonging  to  the  different  villages  on  the  Jericho  side, 
takes  his  turn  in  furnishing  a  guard,  and  receiving  the  emol- 
uments, so  that  the  profits  are  pretty  equally  distributed.  In 
addition  to  the  sum  of  a  hundred  piasters  to  the  Sheik  (about 
four  dollars  American  money),  there  is,  as  before  stated,  the 
further  sum  of  forty  piasters  to  the  men,  for  a  sheep  that  is 
never  either  killed  or  roasted ;  which  I  shall  always  regard 
in  the  light  of  a  gross  imposition  upon  the  credulity  of  stran- 
gers. Besides  this,  there  is  there  an  unlimited  amount  ofback- 
shish  to  be  paid  to  the  guard  individually  at  the  end  of  the 
journey,  for  taking  good  care  of  the  Howadji.  I  paid  the 
backshish  without  reluctance,  because  I  felt  extremely  grate- 
ful in  being  permitted  to  reach  Jericho  without  being  shot 
through  the  head — not  by  the  Bedouins  but  by  the  guard  ; 
and  I  could  not  but  feel  sensible  of  their  kindness  and  discre- 
tion in  keeping  away  on  the  distant  hills  when  we  were  down 
by  the  Jordan,  and  thereby  exposing  us  to  but  one  danger  at 
a  time — that  from  the  guns  of  the  Bedouins  on  the  other  side 
of  the  river. 


380  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

It  was  a  mild  plea.pa.nt  evening  as  we  reined  up  our  horses 
before  the  palace  of  his  highness  the  Sheik  of  Jericho.  The 
sun  was  in  the  act  of  setling,  and  to  do  him  justice  he  did  it 
as  well  as  ever  I  saw  it  done.  The  Avhole  valley  of  the  Jor- 
dan was  steeped  in  a  glowing  atmosphere  of  purple  ;  and  the 
mountains  beyond  the  Dead  Sea  were  admirably  finished  off 
on  top  with  cities  of  gold  made  out  of  naked  rocks  and  sun- 
shine ;  and  the  Bedouin  country,  take  it  altogether,  to  its 
most  distant  point  of  view  looked  very  much  like  a  land  of 
wild,  undcfinable  beauty,  and  glowing  romance. 

Regarding  the  palace  of  the  Sheik  of  Jericho,'  of  which  1 
have  made  mention,  it  was  a  mud  hut  about  thirty  feet  in 
length,  ten  feet  high,  and  roofed  with  a  combination  of  bushes, 
straw,  manure,  mud,  gravel,  and  old  rags.  It  had  three  walls 
altogether — the  back  wall  and  the  two  end  walls.  The 
whole  of  the  front  part  was  open,  or  rather  would  have  been 
open,  had  not  the  Sheik  with  a  degree  of  shrewdness  and  in- 
genuity very  characteristic  of  the  citizens  of  modern  Jericho, 
placed  some  bushes  in  a  pile  there,  with  an  inside  partition 
of  the  same,  and  formed  a  sort  of  connection  between  them 
and  the  roof  by  another  pile  on  top,  so  that  in  point  of  fact 
he  had  a  front  wall  and  porch  at  the  same  time,  where  he 
could  sit  in  warm  weather,  and  smoke  the  pipe  of  content. 
This  was  to  be  our  lodging-place  for  the  night ;  it  was  the 
best  and  only  lodging-place  we  could  find.  The  Sheik  and 
his  family  lived  in  one  corner  of  the  bush  part,  which  was 
the  part  of  which  he  seemed  to  be  most  proud ;  and  some  cows, 
goats  and  chickens  lived  in  the  main  or  mud  part.  The  only 
remaining  part,  being  the  other  corner  of  the  bush-work, 
which,  in  the  absence  of  any  tourists  from  foreign  countries, 
was  temporarily  occupied  by  an  ass,  we  had  to  wait  awhile 
till  the  Sheik  and  the  ass  came  to  an  understanding  in  regard 
to  the  right  of  possession.  The  Sheik  in  order  to  make  room 
for  us,  was  in  favor  of  removing  the  ass  to  that  part  of  the 
house  which  was  occupied  by  the  goats  and  chickens.  The 
ass  was  in  favor  of  staying  where  he  was.  The  Sheik  en- 
deavored to  remove  him  by  force.  The  ass  being  the  heavier 
body,  stood  his  ground  and  wouldn't  be  removed  by  force.  In 


THRILLING  ALARM  IN  JERICHO.  381 

vain  the  Sheik  expostulated  with  him  ;  the  ass  was  not  to  be 
humbugged  in  that  way ;  his  head  was  too  long  for  that ;  so 
he  remained  doggedly  where  he  was,  and  seemed  to  have 
made  up  his  mind  so  to  remain  as  long  as  he  chose.  At  this 
crisis,  the  conflict  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  right  of  posses- 
sion, appearing  to  be  direct  and  positive,  and  to  admit  of  no 
compromise  between  the  parties,  the  Sheik  went  up  to  a  bag 
that  hung  upon  a  post,  and  took  out  some  barley,  which  he 
held  out  in  his  hand  as  an  additional  argument.  The  ass 
looked  at  the  barley,  smelled  it,  found  that  it  was  good,  con- 
cluded that  the  argument  was  based  upon  just  principles,  and 
quietly  followed  the  Sheik  into  the  goat  and  chicken  depart- 
ment, where  he  was  tied  fast  to  a  post,  and  severely  flogged 
by  that  individual  for  refusing  to  be  convinced  at  first.  I  con- 
sidered that  there  was  a  moral  in  the  incident,  and  noted  it 
down  for  future  study. 

By  the  time  we  had  scraped  up  the  ass's  bed,  and  made 
our  own  beds  in  place  of  it,  Yusef  had  boiled  some  coffee, 
which  was  very  refreshing  to  us  after  our  day's  journey.  We 
had  a  good -supper  of  stewed  chicken  in  due  time,  which  we 
shared  with  the  Sheik  ;  and  about  ten  o'clock,  being  tired,  we 
turned  in  to  sleep.  In  order  to  give  a  proper  understanding 
of  the  startling  adventure  that  befell  us  during  the  night,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  go  back  a  little,  and  mention  that  not  more  than 
three  or  four  nights  previously  a  large  party  of  armed  Bedouins 
had  made  a  descent  upon  the  village,  and  in  spite  of  the  vigil- 
ance of  the  Turkish  guard,  who  were  sound  asleep  and  not  to 
be  wakened  by  the  cries  of  the  villagers,  had  captured  and 
driven  ofT  a  number  of  cows  and  sheep,  and  threatened  to  kill 
every  body  in  the  village  the  next  time  they  came  down.  A 
similar  invasion,  or  perhaps  a  worse  one,  -was  nightly  ap- 
prehended ;  so  that  the  alarm  was  general,  and  all  the  live 
stock  was  driven  into  the  houses  for  safe  keeping.  This  the 
old  Sheik  communicated  to  Yusef  with  great  coolness,  consid- 
ering the  danger ;  but  it  was  not  so  taken  by  Yusef.  His 
eyes  seemed  as  if  they  would  start  out  of  his  head,  when  he 
was  informed  of  this  unpleasant  state  of  things,  and  it  was 
jome  time  before  he  could  calm  himself  sufficiently  to  give  us 


382  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

any  idea  of  the  dangers  that  threatened  us.  I  have  no  hesi 
tation  in  confessing  that  it  was  not  a  piece  of  intelligence  cal- 
culated to  make  me  sloep  soundly.  Nothing  but  the  implicit 
confidence  I  had  in  the  courage  of  Yusef,  could  have  induced 
me  to  risk  my  life  in  such  a  place  a  single  hour  longer ;  al- 
though, it  was  now  dark  night.  As  soon,  therefore,  as  he  had 
interpreted  for  us  the  startling  information  which  he  had  re- 
ceived from  the  Sheik,  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  our  only 
hope  of  safety  lay  in  Yusef.  Calling  him  up  close  to  where 
we  were  seated,  I  stated  to  him  in  substance  that  being  un- 
armed, and  in  no  way  prepared  to  resist  an  attack  from  the 
Bedouins,  I  was  willing,  as  doubtless  also  my  friend  the 
Southerner  was,  to  yield  to  him  the  post  of  honor  ;  which  was 
directly  across  the  entrance  into  our  quarters. 

"If  it  should  unfortunately  happen,"  said  I,  "that  these 
Bedouins  should  make  a  descent  upon  us  to-night,  they  will 
unquestionably  come  in  through  the  first  hole  or  doorway  that 
they  find  open.  Now  as  there  is  no  door  here  to  put  in  this 
gap,  and  no  means  by  which  we  can  secure  ourselves  for  de- 
fense, the  only  possible  chance  of  escape  we  have  depends 
upon  you.  Arm  yourself  well,  Yusef ;  load  and  prime  your 
guns  and  pistols  carefully  ;  see  that  your  sword  and  knives 
are  properly  disposed  for  action  :  spread  your  mattress  di- 
rectly across  the  gap  in  front  of  us,  and  keep  watch  as  long 
as  you  can.  Should  you  fall  asleep,  which  is  not  likely  undei 
the  circumstances,  the  Bedouins  will  no  doubt  wake  you  up, 
as  soon  as  they  step  on  you.  While  you  are  grappling  with 
them,  my  friend  and  myself  can  tear  away  the  bush-work  be- 
hind us,  and  make  our  escape.  Should  you  survive  the  con- 
flict, you  will  overtake  us  in  the  morning  on  the  road  to  Jeru- 
salem ;  but  should  you  fall,  we  will  take  care  to  mention  all 
the  facts  to  your  family  in  Beirut ;  and  hand  them  over  any 
funds  that  may  be  due  to  you." 

I  can  not  say  that  Yusef  took  this  proposition  with  the  avid- 
ity which  was  to  be  expected  from  one  who  had  been  thirsting 
so  long  for  the  blood  of  a  Bedouin.  He  looked  confused  and 
astonished  at  first ;  then  turned  very  pale  and  trembled  all  over  ; 
and  when  I  spoke  of  conveying  the  melancholy  intelligence 


THRILLING  ALARM  IN  JERICHO.  383 

to  his  family  regarding  his  fate,  he  was  more  affected  than  I 
had  ever  yet  seen  him.  All  this  I  attribute  to  that  remark- 
able feature  in  human  nature  which  causes  us,  after  we  have 
long  cherished  any  fond  anticipation,  to  feel  something  of  a 
re-action  when  it  is  likely  to  be  realized.  Seeing  clearly  that 
this  was  what  affected  Yusef,  I  laid  hold  of  his  mattress  my- 
eelf,  and  fixed  it  across  the  gap  in  the  bush-work,  and  told 
him  not  to  despair;  that  there  was  every  reason  to  believe 
that  the  Bedouins  would  be  down  upon  us  before  morning. 
I  then  assisted  him  in  fixing  his  weapons  of  defense  ;  and  all 
being  arranged  to  my  satisfaction,  directed  him  to  give  the 
alarm  the  moment  the  attack  was  made. 

Yusef,  without  saying  a  word,  lay  down,  and  was  perfectly 
quiet  for  about  ten  minutes,  as  if  in  profound  thought.  At 
the  expiration  of  that  time,  he  Suddenly  began  to  snore,  which 
aroused  me  from  a  doze  into  which  I  had  fallen.  I  instantly 
thought  of  his  singular  dream  in  Baalbek  concerning  the  lion  ; 
and  on  that  account  felt  some  doubt  as  to  his  being  asleep. 
Not  content  with  snoring,  he  began  to  mutter  broken  sen- 
tences, and  what  was  a  little  singular,  he  rmittered  in  En- 
glish, which  was  not  his  habit  generally  when  asleep.  "Poh ! 
Bedouins  !  I  only  wish  they'd  come  !  Cowardly  rascals  ! 
I'd  like  to  see  them  walk  over  me — I'd  soon  kill  'em — rip — 
shoot — "  and  so  on,  till  I  put  out  the  light,  fell  asleep  myself,' 
and  left  him  thus  talking  to  himself  in  the  dark.  My  friend, 
the  tall  Southerner,  who  took  things  easy,  generally,  had 
fallen  asleep  some  time  before,  and  thus  we  slept  on,  and 
might  have  slept  soundly  till  morning  but  for  what  followed. 

I  fancy  that  it  must  have  been  about  midnight  that  I  was 
aroused  from  a  pleasant  dream  of  home,  by  something  like 
cold  flesh  lightly  moved  over  my  face.  In  the  panic  of  the 
moment,  I  grasped  at  the  invisible  object,  and,  to  my  intense 
horror,  found  that  it  was  a  human  hand  !  Great  heavens ! 
it  must  be  a  Bedouin  feeling  for  my  neck  !  "A  Bedouin  ! 
A  Bedouin  !"  I  shouted,  holding  on  to  the  struggling  hand 
with  all  my  might.  "Help,  Yusef!  help!  I've  got  him! 
A  Bedouin,  by  all  that's  horrible!"  The  tall  Southerner 
sprang  to  my  assistance  in  a  moment.  It  v/as  intensely  dark ; 


384  A  CRUSADE  IN  TEE  EAST. 

by  reason,  of  which,  not  being  able  to  see,  he  stumbled  against 
the  struggling  man,  whom  he  grappled  by  the  throat,  and 
we  all  three  rolled  over  in  a  heap  together.  Finding  it  ut- 
terly impossible  to  distinguish  friend  from  foe,  I  again  called 
to  Yusef  for  help.  "  Help,  Yusef,  help — we've  got  him  ! 
Strike  a  light  quick,  or  he'll  get  away  !  A  light !  a  light !" — 
It  was  all  in  vain ;  there  was  neither  an  answer  nor  a  light, 
and  the  dreadful  thought  occurred  to  me  that  this  Bedouin 
had  stabbed  Yusef,  or  cut  his  throat,  and  then  crept  over  to 
serve  my  friend  and  myself  in  like  manner.  "  Never  mind," 
said  the  tall  Southerner,  coolly  ;  "  he's  all  safe.  I  have  him 
by  the  throat.  You  grope  about  and  find  my  knife,  General : 
we'll  fix  him  presently."  I  can  not  say  that  I  approved  of 
this  proposition.  It  was  not  pleasant,  the  idea  of  groping 
about  in  the  dark,  after  what  had  happened.  I  might  find 
something  more  than  a  knife ;  perhaps  I  might  find  another 
Bedouin.  The  struggle  that  had  just  taken  place,  quite  sat- 
isfied rne  that  one  Bedouin  was  as  much  as  I  could  conven- 
iently manage.  "  No,"  said  I,  "  you  keep  him  down  while  I 
strike  a  light.  I  have  a  match  in  my  pocket,  if  I  can  only 
find  it.  Hold  on  to  him,  if  you  can."  It  was  as  much  as 
the  tall  Southerner  could  do  to  retain  his  grasp  of  the  man's 
throat,  who,  upon  hearing  the  word  "knife,"  struggled  like  a 
maniac  ;  but  my  athletic  friend  was  too  strong  for  him.  He 
held  him  down  with  the  grip  of  a  vice.  While  they  were 
struggling,  I  got  the  match  out  of  my  pocket,  and  succeeded 
in  lighting  it ;  by  which  time  the  old  Sheik  and  his  wife, 
alarmed  at  the  frightful  noises  that  we  made,  were  calling 
upon  us  in  the  most  heart-rending  tones  to  spare  their  lives 
The  sight  that  met  my  eyes,  upon  holding  up  the  match,  was 
one  that  I  shall  never  forget.  Had  I  beheld  a  grizzly  bear 
in  the  hands  of  my  friend,  or  a  rhinoceros,  or  even  a  seven- 
headed  dragon,  it  might  possibly  have  surprised  me ;  but  I 
was  completely  stunned  and  overwhelmed  with  astonishment 
at  the  actual  spectacle.  There,  in  the  extreme  corner,  lying 
on  his  back,  his  eyes  starting  from  their  sockets  by  reason  of 
being  choked  in  the  iron  grasp  of  the  tall  Southerner,  who 
held  him  down  bv  the  throat,  was  no  other  than  our  faithful 


THRILLING  ALARM  IN  JERICHO.  385 

dragoman  and  protector,  Yusef  Badra  !  It  was  clear  enough, 
even  at  a  glance,  why  he  did  not  come  to  our  assistance 
when  called  upon  at  the  first  alarm  ;  it  was  clear  enough 
why  a  supposed  Bedouin  should  understand  English,  and 
struggle  like  a  maniac  when  he  heard  that  his  throat  was 
going  to  be  cut ;  it  was  all  clear  enough  now,  except  the 
cause  of  this  singular  mistake  which  had  well-nigh  cost  us 
the  life  and  future  services  of  Yusef  Badra.  I  need  not  say 
with  what  astonishment  the  tall  Southerner  relaxed  his  grasp ; 
how  Yusef  sat  up  with  blood-shot  and  starting  eyes,  looking 
all  around  him,  and  gasping  for  breath ;  how  we  immediately 
lit  the  lamp,  and  pacified  the  old  Sheik  and  his  wife,  who 
were  perfectly  frantic  with  fear  ;  in  fine,  how  we  called  upon 
Yusef  to  tell  us,  in  the  name  of  the  seven  wonders,  how  he 
had  fallen  into  this  difficulty. 

"  Spirit  of  Eblis  !"  he  gasped,  panting  for  breath,  "  what  a 
horrible — a — a — what  a — a  very  dreadful  night-mare  I've 
had  !  By  the  beard  of  the  Prophet ! — I — I — thought  I  was 
ch — choking  !  It  even  seemed  to  me  that  I  was  al — almost 
st — strangled  ;  for  I  protest  I  c — c — couldn't  get  my  breath  ! 
I  do  believe— -I — I — would  have  d — d — died,  if  your  Excel- 
lencies hadn't  w — w — aked  me  up  !" 

In  the  course  of  a  few  minutes,  when  he  had  somewhat 
recovered,  he  gave  us  some  further  particulars  in  regard  to 
his  dream,  which  was  certainly  of  a  very  extraordinary  char- 
acter. It  appeared  that  as  he  lay  upon  his  mattress  thinking 
how  he  could  best  protect  us  from  the  Bedouins,  the  idea  oc- 
curred to  him  that,  being  very  cunning  fellows,  they  would, 
in  all  probability,  upon  seeing  a  door-way  open  in  the  bush 
work,  naturally  suppose  that  he,  Badra,  the  Destroyer  of 
Robbers,  was  lying  there  waiting  for  them  ;  that  they  would, 
therefore,  endeavor  to  effect  their  entrance  through  that  part 
where  the  Howadji  lay.  In  order  to  meet  them  upon  theii 
own  ground,  therefore,  he  had  cautiously  crept  over  into  that 
corner,  behind  us,  where  he  sat  waiting  for  them  ;  that  while 
he  was  thus  watching  over  us,  he  fell  into  a  doze,  but  imag- 
ined it  was  into  the  river  Jordan ;  and  feeling  himself  going 
down,  he  began  to  swim  ;  that  the  moment  he  moved  his 


386  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

hand  for  that  purpose,  it  was  seized  hold  of  hy  a  large  snap- 
ping-turtle,  which  held  him  fast,  and  was  pulling  him  down 
under  the  water,  when  another  turtle,  still  larger,  seized  him 
by  the  throat,  and  got  on  top  of  him,  and  doubtless  would 
have  strangled  him  had  he  not,  as  he  supposed,  awakened 
us  by  his  groans.  He  felt  very  thankful  to  us  for  saving  his 
life,  and  would  take  care  in  future  not  to  eat  so  much  supper, 
which  he  imagined  was  the  cause  of  his  sleeping  so  badly. 

Having  thus  satisfied  us  as  to  the  cause  of  the  whole  alarm, 
and  proved  that  the  result  of  the  adventure  was  a  subject  of 
congratulation  to  both  parties,  we  all  lit  our  chiboucks,  and 
enjoyed  pleasant  conversation  on  the  subject  of  strange  dreams, 
till  day-light  warned  us  that  it  was  time  to  get  breakfast  and 
depart  for  Jerusalem. 


CHAPTER  L. 

CHRISTMAS    NIGHT    IN    BETHLEHEM. 

ON  our  return  to- Jerusalem,  we  devoted  the  few  days  in- 
tervening before  the  25th  of  December  to  a  more  thorough 
exploration  of  the  neighborhood.  So  familiar  now  to  every 
reader  of  Oriental  travels  are  the  Tombs  of  the  Judges,  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  the  Grotto  of  Jeremiah,  the  Mount  of  Zion, 
and  all  the  places  famed  in  sacred  and  classical  history,  that 
it  would  be  a  difficult  task  to  add  any  thing  new  to  what  has 
been  written  on  these  subjects. 

I  had  heard  much  in  regard  to  the  ruinous  aspect  of  modern 
Jerusalem  ;  and,  strange  as  it  may  appear,  was  rather  disap- 
pointed in  not  finding  it  so  dilapidated  a  city  as  I  had  sup- 
posed it  to  be.  Indeed,  it  seemed  to  me  in  quite  as  good 
condition  as  most  of  the  cities  which  I  had  seen  in  Turkey 
and  Syria.  The  first  view  on  the  approach  by  the  Damascus 
road,  is "  strangely  beautiful  and  impressive. .  The  white 
mosques,  and  minarets,  and  rounded  domes,  and  the  fine  old 
gateways,  are  strikingly  Oriental.  The  houses  and  bazaars 
in  the  upper  and  middle  parts  of  the  town,  toward  the  Julia, 
gate,  are  as  good  as  any  in  Beirut,  and  not  at  all  like  what 
one  might  expect  in  Jerusalem. 

On  Christmas  afternoon,  having  made  up  our  minds  to 
spend  the  night  in  Bethlehem,  we  set  out  with  a  crowd  of 
Frank  pilgrims,  and  in  due  time  arrived  at  the  convent. 
This  building  is  very  large  and  of  irregular  form  ;  and  is  said 
by  the  monks  to  be  built  over  the  Grotto  of  the  Manger.  The 
most  reliable  authorities  deny  that  there  is  any  reasonable 
ground  for  the  assumption.  We  found  the  whole  village  of 
Bethlehem  filled  to  overflowing  with  pilgrims  from  all  coun- 


388  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

tries ;  and  it  was  not  without  difficulty  that  we  obtained  a 
room  in  the  convent,  which  was  already  overflowing  with 
visitors. 

In  that  old  convent  I  passed  the  most  memorable  Christmas 
of  my  life ;  and  I  sincerely  hope  it  was  the  last  of  the  kind 
that  I  am  destined  ever  to  spend.  To  give  the  remotest  idea 
of  the  ceremonies  would  be  utterly  impossible ;  and  if  I 
thought  that  a  single  reasonable  being  in  any  civilized  coun- 
try, no  matter  of  what  persuasion,  could  look  upon  them  with 
other  feelings  than  those  of  disapproval  and  humiliation,  I 
would  not  even  acknowledge  that  I  was  there. 

Long  before  midnight  the  crowd  was  dense  and  crushing. 
Hundreds  of  monks,  bearing  candles,  were  assembled  around 
the  main  altar.  There  was  a  waxen  image  there  ;  a  strange 
disgusting  thing,  with  staring  eyes  of  glass,  tawny  skin,  and 
wrinkled  neck ;  its  cheeks  puffed  out,  and  its  mouth  slightly 
open,  as  if  it  had  been  suffocated  with  thick  incenses.  A 
string  of  beads  was  coiled  up  on  its  breast.  It  was  dressed  in 
white,  and  glared  strangely  with  silver  spangles  and  tawdry 
lace. 

They  laid  it  on  its  back  on  the  altar ;  and  they  talked  to 
it,  and  chanted,  and  prostrated  themselves  in  its  presence ; 
and  the  wild  glare  of  many  lamps  glistened  upon  their  pale 
greasy  faces  and  shaven  heads ;  and  anon  they  turned  to  the 
pictures  on  the  walls,  of  bleeding  and  mutilated  saints,  and 
bowed  down  again  with  closed  eyes,  and  chanted  their  hea- 
thenish rites,  and  moaned  for  the  wickedness  of  the  unbe- 
lieving. 

In  jostling  crowds  they  put  aside  the  staring  and  affrighted 
Arabs,  and  went  from  alcove  to  alcove  in  a  scorching  halo 
of  light ;  and  hour  after  hour,  as  the  incense  and  foul  air 
rose  thicker  and  thicker  over  the  heads  of  the  swaying  mass, 
they  fell  prostrate  before  the  ugly  wax  image,  and  chanted 
the  glory  of  the  new-born. 

On  the  floor,  surging  around  the  many  feet,  was  a  sea  of 
human  heads,  bald  and  blue  with  recent  shaving,  and  the 
grizzled  beards  of  the  old  were  frothy  as  the  foam  wrought 
by  a  fierce  tempest. 


CHRISTMAS  NIGHT  IN  BETHLEHEM.  38» 

There  was  something  intensely  brutish  and  disgusting  in 
the  whole  spectacle.  I  could  not  but  think  that  it  was  rank 
blasphemy,  this  exhibition  of  pretended  divinity  in  a  miser- 
able wax  image  ;  a  thousand  times  more  barbarous  than  the 
heathenish  rites  of  savages.  The  great  fat  monks,  in  their 
coarse  sackcloth,  with  their  shaven  heads  and  bare  feet ;  the 
sweat  standing  in  big  drops  on  their  faces ;  their  eyes  rolling 
wildly  in  their  heads;  their  hoarse  chants  grating  harshly 
upon  the  air  ;  the  lustful  expression  with  which  they  turned 
from  the  altar,  and  on  their  bended  knees  gazed  into  the 
faces  of  the  women,  presented  a  ssene  too  sadly  impressive 
ever  to  be  forgotten. 

At  the  hour  of  twelve,  they  lifted  with  awful  looks  the 
tawdry  babe  from  its  resting-place  on  the  altar,  and  held  it 
up  for  the  multitude  to  gaze  upon ;  and  then  they  bore  it  off 
in  clouds  of  incense,  through  long  winding  passages,  and  de- 
scended into  the  cave,  and  laid  it  down  upon  a  rock  ;  and  the 
wax  candles  cast  a  pale  and  ghastly  light  upon  it,  and  as  it 
lay  there  with  its  round  glass  eyes  staring  at  them,  they  fell 
prostrate  and  worshiped  it,  and  chanted,  and  moaned,  and 
wept  at  the  feet  of  the  panting  crowd.  Again  they  rose,  and 
with,  hot,  blood-shot  eyes,  scowled  malignantly  upon  the  her- 
etics that  pressed  down  upon  them  to  see  the  strange  spec- 
tacle ;  and  in  the  thickness  of  the  foul  atmosphere,  and  the 
gloom  of  the  dark,  reeking  cavern,  they  looked  slimy  and 
monstrous,  and  I  thought  it  was  the  most  sickening  exhibition 
of  brutish  superstition  that  the  eye  of  man  could  behold. 

Parched  with  thirst  and  dazzled  with  the  unceasing  glare 
of  lights  thrust  in  my  eyes  for  hours  before,  humiliated  by  the 
degrading  spectacle,  and  sick  at  heart,  I  struggled  out  from  the 
crushing  mass,  and  groped  my  way  up  the  winding  passages 
to  our  quarters  in  the  convent.  I  lay  down,  my  brain  burn- 
ing with  visions  of  monstrous  and  unholy  rites,  and  strove  to 
sleep ;  but,  hour  after  hour,  I  started  up  and  wondered  what 
strange,  unearthly  sounds  fell  upon  my  ears ;  what  fearful 
spectres  were  painted  upon  the  air ;  what  weight  of  horror 
lay  like  a  night-mare  upon  my  breast.  Can  it  be,  1  thought, 
that— 


390  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 


-Some  tormenting  dream. 


Affrights  me  with  a  hell  of  ugly  devils  ?" 
Or  is  it  that  men  are  driven  mad  by  the  terrors  of  death ; 
that  they  thus  draw  darkness  out  of  the  future  and  swallow 
it  into  their  souls?  Is  it  that  all  this  is  done  in  the  name  of 
that  merciful  Redeemer,  whose  words  fall  like  balm  upon  the 
heart? 

And  then,  as  the  night  waned,  and  the  sounds  fell  fainter 
and  fainter  upon  the  air,*  a  soothing  calm  stole  over  me,  and 
closing  ray  eyes,  I  wandered  back  in  thought  to  a  happy 
home  across  the  waters,  and  saw  ardund  the  peaceful  fireside 
on  a  Christmas  night,  a  circle  of  familiar  faces,  all  gentle 
and  smiling,  all  radiant  with  hope ;  and  kindly  greetings 
passed ;  and  pleasant  words  were  spoken,  and  the  happy 
past  was  revived,  and  bright  anticipations  of  the  future 
beamed  upon  every  face ;  and  I  inwardly  thanked  God  that 
so  much  of  good  was  yet  left  upon  earth,  so  much  of  bright 
promise  in  the  future ;  and  in  the  soothing  of  those  happy 
memories  and  the  hopefulness  of  better  things  to  come,  I  com- 
mitted myself  to  the  keeping  of  Him  who  showeth  the  path 
of  life ,  in  whose  presence  is  fullness  of  joy,  at  whose  right 
hand  are  pleasures  for  evermore. 


CHAPTER  LI. 

CROSSING    THE    RIVERS. 

THE  heavy  rains  during  our  stay  in  Jerusalem  had  swollen 
the  rivers,  so  that  on  our  journey  from  Jaffa  along  the  coast 
we  were  frequently  stopped,  and  compelled  to  make  a  detour 
of  several  miles  in  order  to  find  a  crossing-place.  Even  then, 
owing  to  flats  and  marshes,  we  were  subject  to  danger  and 
inconvenience,  and  sometimes  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  dis- 
mounting, and.  hiring  some  of  the  neighboring  Arabs  who 
were  acquainted  with  the  fords  to  drive  our  horses  before  us 
and  carry  ourselves  across  on  their  backs.  The  mules  usually 
contrived,  about  midway  in  these  difficult  passages,  to  get 

fast  in  the  mud,  and  upset 
themselves  and  the  bag- 
gage ;  which  always  oc- 
casioned the  most  intense 
excitement  among  the 
Arabs.  To  give  any  idea 
of  the  shouting,  and  shriek- 
ing, and  flourishing  of 
sticks  ;  the  frantic  lamen- 
tations on  all  sides ;  the 
thundering  reproaches  of 
Yusef;  or  the  remon- 
strances of  the  Howadji 
against  the  damage  of 
their  precious  curiosities, 
would  be  entirely  out  of 
the  question.  I  shall 
content  myself  by  leaving 


392  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

all  that  to  the  imagination  of  the  reader,  and  presenting  a 
sketch  of  what  impressed  me  as  the  most  picturesque  feature 
in  the  scene. 

The  position  is  striking,  and  not  altogether  ungraceful.  It 
has  the  advantage  of  making  one  pair  of  legs  answer  a  double 
purpose — that  of  carrying  the  owner  across  the  river,  and  at 
the  same  time  the  Howadji  who  is  mounted  upon  the  back 
of  the  owner ;  and  it  presents  the  Howadji  in  rather  a  more 
elevated  point  of  view  than  if  the  legs  of  both  parties  were 
in  the  water ;  which,  however,  sometimes  happens  before 
they  reach  the  opposite  bank.  Should  the  Arab  who  acts 
the  part  of  carrier  in  these  cases,  accidentally  step  upon  the 
point  of  a  sharp  stick,  and  suddenly  let  go  his  hold,  the  prob- 
ability is,  that  the  hold  of  the  gentleman  upon  his  back  will 
reduce  both  parties  to  a  level,  but  not  to  an  equality;  because 
the  more  elevated  naturally  falls  underneath,  and  he  not  only 
suffers  from  the  disaster,  but  is  obliged  in  the  end  to  pay 
backshish  for  a  back  that  failed  to  carry  him  over,  and  no 
deduction  made  for  getting-  his  own  back  saturated  with  mud 
and  water.  , 

At  one  of  these  fords  we  met  our  old  friend  Maximilian,  the 
celebrated  Greek  patriarch,  who,  in  company  with  a  high- 
priest  of  the  same  church,  performed  his  pilgrimage  to  Jeru- 
salem in  a  basket.  Experience  had  taught  him  the  danger 
of  depending  upon  a  mule  when  a  river  was  to  be  crossed  ; 
for,  on  one  occasion,  the  mule  upon  which  the  two  baskets 
were  hung — that  of  Maximilian  on  one  side,  and  that  of  the 
high-priest  on  the  other — took  it  into  his  head  to  lie  down, 
which  he  did  in  spite  of  all  the  Arabs,  and  it  was  with  diffi- 
culty that  the  venerable  pilgrims  were  rescued  from  a  watery 
grave.  Hence,  the  wily  old  patriarch,  being  too  infirm  to 
stand  much  moving,  hit  upon  the  expedient  of  having  him- 
self carried  across  all  future  rivers  in  the  following  manner  : 

He  caused  a  stout  Arab  to  get  under  the  basket  when  they 
arrived  at  a  river ;  and  at  a  given  signal  the  ropes  being  un- 
fastened from  the  mule,  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  car- 
rier, so  as  to  form  a  secure  way  of  balancing  the  load,  the 
basket  arid  the  patriarch  were  borne  off'  at  the  same  time, 


CROSSING  THE  RIVERS. 


393 


and  safely  landed  on  the  op- 
posite side,  unless  in  case  of 
accident.  If  any  accident 
.  occurred  we  heard  nothing 
of  it.  My  impression  is  that 
Maximilian  reached  Jerusa- 
lem in  safety. 

Any  person  unacquainted 
with  these  circumstances, 
would,  perhaps,  at  the  first 
glance,  imagine  that  the 
sketch  is  designed  to  repre- 
sent a  peculiar  race  of  men 
never  before  heard  of;  with  long  hoards,  basket  bodies,  and 
an  unusual  number  of  arms  and  legs,  and  the  knees  of  the  two 
principal  legs  turned  backward,  so  that  these  singularly-con- 
structed people  may  see  what  is  going  on  behind  them  while 
they  walk.  There  are  many  curious  races  of  men  in  the 
world,  according  to  the  narratives  of  enterprising  travelers ; 
but  I  will  not  undertake  to  say  that  such  a  race  as  this  is  to 
be  found  in  Palestine.  Although  fully  impressed  with  that 
belief  when  I  saw  the  Greek  patriarch  mounted  in  his  basket, 
upon  the  back  of  an  Arab,  I  now  give  this  explanation  to 
caution  the  general  reader,  as  well  as  all  physiologists  and 
scientific  men,  to  be  careful  how  they  fall  into  the  same  error. 

R* 


CHAPTER  LIL 


THE    DESOLATE    CITY. 

• 

THIS  was  a  dreary  day  ;  from  the  rising  of  the  sun  nothing 
in  sight  but  a  waste  of  waters  on  the  left,  a  desert  plain  on 
the  right,  and  the  blanched  and  rugged  heights  of  Carmel  dim 
in  the  distance.  Our  road  lay  along  the  coast  of  Phoanicia, 
over  barren  rocks  and  beds  of  sand,  all  parched  and  shadow- 
less. 

Evening  came,  and  thick  clouds  covered  the  sky ;  the  sun 
was  hid  in  the  gloom ;  there  was  neither  heat  nor  cold,  nor 
glare  nor  darkness  ;  but  a  dim,  death-like  pall  was  outspread 
Upon  the  earth.  No  bird  of  the  air  or  beast  of  the  field  was 
in  sight ;  no  sound  broke  upon  the  stillness  but  the  sad  moan- 
ing of  the  surf;  no  sign  of  life,  or  hope,  or  promise  was  within 
the  last  sweep  of  desolation  around. 

We  rode  silently  on  our  way  ;  and  about  the  seventh  hour 
of  our  journey  from  El  Mukhalid,  we  beheld  afar  upon  the 

shore  a  ruined  eity. 
Fragments  of  walls 
and  towers  rent  asun- 
der, and  masses  of 
ramparts,  shattered  by 
g  earthquakes  and  the 
jh  ravages  of  war,  loomed 
darkly  through  the 
haze.  The  Arabs 
stopped,  and,  point- 
ing to  the  ruins,  said 
that  there  lay  all  that 


VILLAGE   OF   EL  MUKHALID. 


was  left  of  Ccsarea. 


THE  DESOLATE  Cl'JT.  JUS 

We  rode  on,  and  drawing  near  saw  that  ghostly  city  was 
walled  around  with  ramparts,  and  masses  of  ruin  were  scat- 
tered round  about  over  the  plain.  A  few  sickly  weeds  grew 
among  the  banks  of  broken  columns  and  shattered  walls ; 
but  there  was  neither  shrub  nor  leaflet  nor  green  sod  there  ; 
all  was  withered  and  lifeless. 

I  stopped  awhile  to  sketch  the  ruins,  while  my  comrades 
passed  through  and  went  their  way  toward  Tantura.  When 
[  had  finished,  I  entered  through  a  crumbling  archway,  and 
wandered  about,  lost  in  wonder  at  the  utter  desolation  of  the 
place.  Not  a  living  soul  was  there  ;  not  a  living  thing  that 
I  could  see  ;  not  a  sigh,  or  whisper,  or  sound  of  life  came  from 
out  of  the  ruins.  The  silence  of  death  was  every  where  ;  not 
even  the  low  wail  of  the  surf  now  reached  me  through  the 
masses  of  shattered  walls ;  and  I  thought  how  terrible  was 
the  wrath  that  had  thus  smitten  the  abodes  of  men  with 
destruction ;  how  "  the  Lord  maketh  the  earth  empty,  and 
maketh  it  waste,  and  turneth  it  upside  down,  and  scattereth 
abroad  the  inhabitants  thereof." 

There  was  nothing  but  ruin  every  where  ;  high  walls  rent 
in  gaping  fissures ;  towers  shivered  asunder  to  their  bases ; 
great  archways  cast  down  in  rugged  masses ;  streets  choked 
and  filled  with  shattered  columns  or  covered  over  with  blasted 
earth,  all  waste  and  sodless.  Not  a  bird  of  good 'or  evil  omen 
sat  upon  the  fragments ;  not  a  beast  haunted  the  ruins ;  it 
was  all  still,  all  silent  and  without  life. 

Ruined  cities  there  are,  scattered  broadcast  throughout  this 
land  of  desolation  ;  yet  all  that  I  had  seen  had  some  remnant 
of  vitality  within  their  walls.  Dark  and  squalid  men  and 
masked  women  haunted  them  ;  dogs  and  wild  beasts  of  prey 
and  birds  of  evil  omen  fed  upon  the  dead  things  that  were  cast 
out  from  the  doors ;  but  here  there  was  nothing  of  the  present ; 
all  was  silent,  all  dead.  No  foul  odors  from  dark  and  narrow 
streets ;  no  bearded  men  with  downcast  faces,  stalking  sadly 
through  the  fallen  city  ;  no  dark-eyed  women  to  steal  a  flashing 
look  at  the  stranger ;  no  human  voice  to  utter  a  word  of  welcome, 
or  say,  Depart  in  peace  ;  no  moody  follower  of  the  Prophet  to 
scowl  his  hatred,  or  stalk  unheeding  by ;  all  was  of  the  past. 


S96  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

I  sat  upon  a  broken  column,  and  looking  with  a  saddened 
heart  upon  this  scene  of  desolation,  wondered  what  had  he- 
come  of  all  that  had  lived  here ;  the  good,  the  wicked — the 
brave,  the  beautiful,  and  the  gay  ;  how  lived  they  ;  how  died 
they ;  were  all  the  records  of  their  deeds  for  centuries  past 
buried  with  them,  and  nothing  left ;  was  there  happiness 
within  these  walls ;  did  they  feel  as  we  who  looked  upon 
these  ruins  felt ;  did  they  look  back  over  the  past  and  for- 
ward to  the  future,  and  in  their  ambition  encircle  the  wide 
world,  and  turn  to  dust  at  last  to  feed  the  worms  of  the  earth 
and  nourish  the  weeds  ;  and  was  this  mass  of  ruins  all  they 
had  left  to  mark  the  spot  ? 

There  was  not  a  breath  to  answer ;  not  a  leaf  to  whisper 
of  the  past ;  all  gone,  never  to  be  seen  upon  earth  again : 
not  a  soul  but  myself  was  there — a  stranger  from  a  distant 
land  the  only  inhabitant  now. 

In  the  grave-yard  there  is  only  the  gloom  of  death  ;  silence 
is  all  we  look  for  there ;  but  here,  in  the  abiding-place  of  men, 
where  once  there  was  the  din  of  life,  there  was  the  silence  of 
death  and  more  than  its  gloom  ;  for  these  walls  were  built  for 
the  living.  I  had  wandered  through  ruins  in  another  clime, 
where  two  thousand  years  ago  a  city  was  buried,  and  all  were 
buried  within  it  in  the  midst  of  life  ;  yet  I  saw  their  homes 
unchanged  ;  -the  frescoes  upon  the  walls ;  the  marks  idly 
made  by  the  soldiers ;  the  bedrooms,  the  wine-cellars,  the 
signs  upon  the  doors,  the  tracks  of  the  carriage- wheels  in  the 
streets,  as  they  were  buried  two  thousand  years  ago  ;  so  fresh, 
so  life-like,  that  one  would  scarcely  be  startled  to  see  the  dead 
arise  and  resume  their  avocations.  But  here  nothing  but  the 
bare  and  ruined  walls  was  left  to  tell  of  the  past ;  there  was 
no  connecting  link  to  unite  it  with  the  present ;  nothing  within 
the  shattered  gateways,  or  abroad  over  the  desert  around,  but 
fragments  of  columns  and  massive  stones — a  waste  of  ruins  ; 
all  dreary  and  voiceless — all  wrapt  in  desolation. 

The  silence  of  a  ship  upon  the  sea  at  night,  when  all  are 
buried  in  sleep,  and  the  waters  have  ceased  their  dirge,  is 
without  gloom  ;  for  the  stars  in  the  heavens  are  worlds  where 
thought  may  wander ;  where  the  soul  may  drink  in  the  beau- 


THE  DESOLATE  CITY. 


397 


ties  of  the  firmament ;  and  if  the  darkness  he  upon  the  deep, 
then  its  mysteries  are  eloquent ;  in  its  unfathomable  caves  lie 
wonders  that  can  never  cease  to  inspire  glowing  thoughts  of 
the  greatness  of  the  Omnipotent. 

Not  such  is  the  Desolate  City  ;  the  city  of  the  silent  dead. 
Here  is  nothing  to  tell  of  them  that  dwelt  there.  The  land  is 
laid  waste,  and  the  earth  mourneth  and  fadeth  away.  "The 
Lord  hath  done  that  which  he  had  devised*  he  hath  fulfilled 
his  word  that  he  had  commanded  in  the  days  of  old  :  he  hath 
thrown  down  and  hath  not  pitied." 

Such  is  Kaisariyeh — once  a  proud  city  of  the  Phoenicians  ; 
now  all  that  remains  of  Cesarea  Palestina. 


KAISARITEH. 


CHAPTER  LIII. 

» 

A    SERIOUS    CHARGE 

Ax  Tantura  an  incident  occurred  which  any  gentleman  of 
respectable  standing  in  society  might  well  be  excused  for  pass- 
ing over  in  silence.  I  do  not  believe  a  similar  case  is  to  be 
found  in  all  the  records  of  Syrian  travel,  though,  doubtless, 
many  a  traveler  has  had  personal  experience  of  the  same 
kind.  It  was  an  unpleasant  charge,  to  say  the  least  of  it ; 
a  provoking  and  unmerited  charge  ;  one  that  touches  the  very 
soul  of  an  honorable  man  in  the  tenderest  part.  Fain  would 
I  proceed  on  the  journey,  and  leave  Tantura  to  future  trav- 
elers ;  but  a  desire  to  maintain  that  spirit  of  candor  and 
truthfulness  by  which  it  has  been  my  constant  endeavor  to 
distinguish  this  narrative  from  all  others,  induces  me  to  give 
a  full  exposition  of  the  facts. 

Tantura  is  a  small  village  by  the  sea-side ;  the  houses  are 
also  small  and  very  dirty,  like  all  the  houses  in  Palestine. 
Such  a  thing  as  a  hotel  is  not  known  in  Tantura,  or  even  a 
common  tavern,  or  the  remotest  approach  to  any  thing  like 
it.  There  ought  to  be  a  Khan  there ;  the  traveling  public 
require  it,  and  would  patronize  such  an  establishment,  but 
Tantura  is  Khanless ;  there  is  not  even  a  can  of  milk  to  be 
had  for  love  or  money.  The  only  place  we  could  find  to  stop 
at  was  a  small  hut,  situated  in  a  pond  of  green  and  stagnant 
water.  There  was  room  for  improvement  all  about  the  house, 
but  not  much  room  inside ;  at  all  events,  not  any  to  spare, 
considering  that  the  occupants  for  the  single  apartment  of 
which  it  consisted  were  already  two  mules,  four  goats,  sev- 
eral dozen  of  chickens,  and  the  owner  and  his  wife.  Add  to 
this  our  party  of  Howadji,  servants  and  muleteers,  and  there 


A  SERIOUS  CHARGE.  399 

• 
is  little  left  to  subtract  except  the  vermin,  which  might  be 

continually  subtracted  for  many  years,  and  yet  leave  a  re- 
mainder. The  old  Arab,  who  claimed  to  be  proprietor,  was 
a  cadaverous  and  unwholesome-looking  person,  broken  down 
in  spirits,  and  evidently  laboring  under  a  complication  of 
domestic  miseries.  His  wife  was  a  leather- faced,  sharp-feat- 
ured, shrewish  sort  of  body,  who  seemed  to  be  continually 
spurring  and  goading  the  old  man  on  to  make  himself  useful, 
never  ceasing  for  five  minutes  to  keep  him  at  work,  and  al- 
ways extremely  enraged  when  he  sat  down  to  smoke.  I  had 
strong  reason  for  believing  that  she  had  bought  him  with 
money,  and  was  taking  the  worth  of  it  out  in  petty  install- 
ments ;  or,  it  might  be,  that  she  really  thought  the  affairs  of 
the  house  required  constant  and  laborious  attention,  or  they 
might  in  the  course  of  time  become  deranged. 

After  our  evening  repast  was  over,  being  rather  tired,  we 
spread  our  mattresses  and  lay  down,  as  we  supposed,  for  the 
night.  But  it  was  not  for  the  night,  nor  for  more  than  a  very 
small  part  of  it ;  because,  as  I  said  before,  the  house  itself 
was  unpromising,  the  landlord  was  unpromising,  his  wife  was 
unpromising,  and  the  whole  establishment  gave  no  promise 
whatever  except  that  of  vermin,  which  was  faithfully  ful- 
filled. We  had  a  great  abundance,  and  were  not  at  all  dis- 
appointed. I  was  so  little  disappointed  myself  that  long  after 
my  companions  fell  asleep,  which  they  did  at  last,  I  rolled 
about  in  extreme  bodily  anguish,  wishing  that  some  of  the 
genii  said  to  exist  in  those  countries  would  transfer  me  to  the 
meanest  stable-loft  at  home.  There  was  a  dim  wick  burning 
in  a  small  earthen  lamp,  in  one  corner  of  the  house,  by  which 

"vas  enabled  to  look  about  and  see  if  there  was  any  possi- 
bility of  bettering  my  condition.  Rubbish  and  dirt  abounded 
in  every  direction,  so  that  it  was  some  time  before  I  could 
make  out  what  there  was  in  the  opposite  corner — rather  a 
darkish  sort  of  place,  with  some  mud  cupboards  or  shelves, 
not  very  clearly  defined.  The  thought  struck  me  that  there 
might  be  some  cavity  or  elevated  hole  there  in  which  I  could 
stow  myself  away  above  ground.  It  was  a  very  happy 
thought,  and  a  very  bright  thought  under  the  circumstances, 


400  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE   EAST. 

• 
but  not  a  lucky  one,  take  it  altogether.     Wishing  to  disturb 

nobody,  I  crept  cautiously  over  two  or  three  snoring  Arabs, 
and  reached  the  corner  without  waking  a  living  soul,  so  far 
as  I  knew.  It  was  a  capital  place  ;  indeed,  I  may  say  such 
a  snug  sort  of  spot  for  a  quiet  nap  as  would  have  enchanted 
any  man  of  imagination.  In  the  corner,  and  extending  along 
the  wall  to  the  length  of  six  or  seven  feet,  was  a  kind  of  mud 
cupboard,  with  two  or  three  large  cavities  or  shelves  in  it,  a 
good  deal  like  the  place  for  dead  bodies  in  the  catacombs  of 
Rome.  But  it  was  not  the  holes  that  I  was  so  pleased  with ; 
they  were  all  filled  with  old  earthen  vessels,  kettles,  pans,  and 
other  loose  rubbish  ;  it  was  the  space  which  I  supposed  to  be 
on  top  that  charmed  me.  The  mud-work  was  very  frail,  and 
shook  a  good  deal  when  I  began  to  climb  up,  but  by  groping 
my  way  cautiously,  and  balancing  the  whole  structure  when- 
ever it  began  to  give  way,  I  got  on  top  at  last,  about  ten  feet 
from  the  ground,  and  was  greatly  rejoiced  to  find  that  it  was 
a  most  admirable  place  for  a  night's  rest.  All  it  wanted  was 
to  be  cleared  up  a  little,  the  surface  being  covered  with  onions 
to  the  depth  of  two  or  three  inches.  I  had  thrown  my  coat 
up  before  me,  which  I  often  used  as  a  pillow,  and,  having  no- 
where else  to  put  the  onions,  began  forthwith  to  gather  them 
up  in  a  pile  at  one  end,  and  stow  them  under  the  coat,  so  as 
to  make  a  comfortable  resting-place  for  the  head.  This  I  was 
doing  a*  quietly  as  possible,  from  a  desire  not  to  disturb  my 
friends  who  were  asleep  down  below.  While  I  was  raking  up 
the  last  of  the  onions,  and  carefully  balancing  myself  lest  the 
cupboard  should  fall  over  and  kill  somebody,  I  distinctly  heard 
a  voice  in  the  opposite  corner  of  the  house  ;  a  woman's  voice, 
low  but  sharp  enough  to  be  the  voice  of  the  old  man's  wife, 
which  it  unquestionably  was.  Then  there  was  a  guttural 
response ;  then  the  woman's  voice  again,  a  little  louder  and 
a  good  deal  sharper ;  another  guttural  response  ;  a  thumping 
sound,  followed  by  a  groan,  and  then  out  of  the  darkness  crept 
the  old  man,  looking  up  at  me  as  he  approached  with  an  ex- 
pression of  countenance  in  which  terror,  anxiety,  and  astonish- 
ment predominated.  He  kept  staring  at  me  for  some  moments 
to  my  great  surprise,  mumbling  over  something  to  himself  in 


A  SERIOUS  CHARGE.  401 

Arabic,  of  which  I  understood  not  a  single  word  except  How- 
adji.  "  Well,"  said  I,  leaning  over  the  top  of  the  cupboard, 
"  what  dc  you  want  with  the  Howadji,  old  gentleman  ?  Can't 
you  let  me  make  a  bed  here  ?"  To  this  he  responded  as  be- 
fore, only  with  more  spirit,  having  apparently  taken  courage 
at  the  gentle  manner  in  which  I  addressed  him.  Unable  to 
understand  him,  I  resumed  the  gathering  up  of  the  onions. 
The  female  voice  in  the  corner  again  reached  my  ears,  and 
the  old  Arab  became  quite  violent.  "  My  friend,"  said  I, 
rather  annoyed,  "  you  are  wasting  breath.  Really  I  can't 
understand  a  word  you  say.  Ho,  Yusef !  wake  up.  Ask  this 
old  gentleman  what  he  wants."  Yusef  woke  up  and  rubbed 
his  eyes.  "  What's  the  matter,  0  General  ?  Where  is  your 
Excellency  ?"  "  Here,"  said  I,  "  up  here  on  top  of  the  cata- 
combs in  the  corner."  "  Bless  my  soul !  And  this  old  fool, 
what  does  he  want  ?"  "  In  faith,  Yusef,  I  don't  know.  He'a 
been  growling  at  me  like  a  bear  for  ten  minutes."  Yusef 
turned  fiercely  upon  the  old  Arab,  and  addressed  him  in  tones 
of  thunder.  What  the  answer  was  I  don't  know  ;  it  certainly 
was  not  of  a  satisfactory  nature,  for  I  never  before  saw  Yusef 
so  enraged  and  indignant.  He  drew  his  sword,  and  would 
doubtless  have  prut  the  poor  man  to  death  on  the  spot  had  not 
the  voice  of  the  woman  broken  in  at  this  juncture,  which 
caused  him  to  return  it  to  the  scabbard  in  some  trepidation, 
and  cover  himself  up  as  quickly  as  possible  in  his  blanket ; 
upon  which  the  old  Arab  made  the  best  of  his  way  back  to 
the  dark  corner  where  his  wife  was.  Yusef  now  raised  up  his 
head  again,  looked  cautiously  around  him,  and  indignantly 
uttered  these  words  :  "  By  Allah  !  this  is  too  bad  !  0  Gen- 
eral !  Genera),  my  blood  boils  ;  for  heaven's  sake,  let  me  kill 
somebody ;  quick,  let  me  kill  somebody ;  I  can't  stand  it,  I 
must — '*  "  Stop,  Yusef!  There  must  be  no  bloodshed  here  ! 
What  did  the  man  say  to  you  ?"  "  Say  ?  0  wherefore  do 
you  ask  me  ?  How  can  I  repeat  it  ?  I'm  ashamed  of  my 
country.  In  six  months,  0  General,  you  shall  see  Yusef 
Badra  in  America."  "  Nay,  but  I  command  you  to  tell  me. 
Out  with  it,  if  you  choke  in  the  effort.  What  did  he  say  ?'' 
"  He  said,  0  General '  he  said  you  were  steal-ing  his  onions! 


402  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

he  declared  by  the  holy  beard  of  the  Prophet  that  he  saw  yon 
at  it  himself;  that  with  his  own.  eyes  he  beheld  you  gather 
them  up  and  put  them  in  a  bag."  "  Good  heavens,  Yusef !" 
"  Yea,  he  called  upon  his  wife  to  save  him  from  my  just 
wrath ;  and  what  do  you  think  she  said,  0  General  ?  Can 
you  guess  what  she  said  ?"  "  No,  indeed,  Yusef;  I  am  per- 
fectly confounded."  "  She  said  she  missed  some  of  them 
about  a  week  ago,  and  had*no  doubt  now  that  you  were  the 
same  fellow  that  stole  them,  as  nobody  else  knew  where  they 
were.  Likewise  she  said,  0  General,  that  if  I  molested  her 
husband  she  would  proceed  at  once  to  tear  the  eyes  out  of  my 
head,  and  then  enter  a  complaint  against  me  before  the  Turk- 
ish authorities  at  Acre,  and,  at  the  same  time,  have  your  ex- 
cellency bastinadoed  for  theft." 

It  was  enough  ;  "I  got  down  from  the  top  of  the  cupboard ; 
mildly  reproved  my  companions  for  making  a  laughing  mat- 
ter of  so  serious  a  charge  ;  requested  Yusef  to  light  my  chibouck 
and  say  no  more  ;  calmly  seated  myself  on  a  spare  mat. 
and  gave  free  indulgence  to  melancholy  reflection.  Oh  des- 
tiny !  had  it  come  to  this  ? — to  this  at  last !  That  I,  who 
had  spent  four  precious  years  of  my  life  in  the  Treasury  De- 
partment of  the  United  States ;  whose  chief  study  was  thy 
study  of  the  banking  system  ;  whose  most  earnest  hope  was, 
never,  by  any  visitation  of  Providence,  to  be  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  president  of  a  bank,  or  signer  of  a  circulating  note  ; 
that  I,  whose  only  ambition  was  to  be  thought  an  honest 
man  as  well  as  to  be  one  in  reality ;  that  I,  who  had  chased 
the  mighty  leviathan  of  the  deep,  slept  in  the  veritable  castle 
of  the  renowned  Crusoe,  dug  the  glittering  ore  out  of  the  gold 
mines  of  California,  explored  the  remotest  corners  of  the  earth 
for  the  benefit  of  mankind,  ;  that  I,  who  had  smiled  at  the 
Q,ueen  of  Greece,  and  frowned  at  Otho,  King  of  Greece  ;  who 
had  entered  upon  the  grandest  Crusade  against  the  Mists  of 
Fancy  that  ever  was  conceived  by  the  soul  of  Chivalry, 
should  at  last  be  accused  of  stealing  onions !  Enough  ! 
enough  !  I  turned  over,  put  my  pipe  away,  and  went  fast 
asleep  ;  for  I  was  callous  to  fleas  now ;  they  might  bite  me 
by  millions ;  rats  and  mice  might  gnaw  at  my  vitals,  but 


A  SERIOUS  CHARGE. 


403 


I  was  totally  resigned  to  all  earthly  afflictions  that  could  be 
piled  upon  me  ;  and  the  consequence  was,  I  slept  soundly  till 
morning. 


RUINS  NEAR  TANTURA. 


CHAPTER  LIV. 

AN   EXTRAORDINARY   AFFAIR. 

DOCTOR  Mendoza  and  the  Madam  occupied  the  house 
next  door.  I  was  going  to  say  they  slept  there ;  but  they 
slept  nowhere  at  all  on  the  present  occasion.  They  were 
wide  awake  all  night ;  there  was  no  sleep  in  Tantura  for  per- 
sons of  fastidious  taste  on  the  subject  of  hotels :  the  contrast 
indeed  was  rather  striking  between  the  accommodations  of 
Tantura  and  St.  Petersburg.  Perhaps  there  never  was  a 
more  wretched  house  made  by  human  hands  than  that  oc- 
cupied by  Doctor  Mendoza  and  the  Madam — except  ours,  and 
I  defy  the  whole  world  to  produce  such  lodgings  as  we  had. 

In  the  morning  at  break  of  day,  I  went  out  to  shake  off 
some  of  the  acquaintances  of  the  night ;  the  Doctor  and  the 
Madam  were  sitting  upon  a  pile  of  baggage  in  front  of  their 
hotel,  groaning  in  a  most  disconsolate  manner.  We  were 
always  strictly  Parisian  in  our  politeness — no  matter  under 
what  circumstances  we  met— especially  the  Madam,  who  had 
been  educated  in  the  true  French  school.  It  would  have 
done  any  man  of  feeling  good  to  see  her  when  she  rose  from 
the  baggage  and  returned  my  salutation  ;  it  was  the  most 
striking  exhibition  of  politeness  under  difficulties  that  I  ever 
beheld.  Her  skin  was  perfectly  green,  spotted  over  with  red 
bites ;  her  nose  swollen  to  an  unusual  size  by  repeated 
attacks  made  by  noxious  reptiles  ;  her  hair  disheveled  and 
uncombed,  and  her  dress  and  general  exterior,  covered  with 
dirty  straw  and  mud.  Yet  she  bowed  as  gracefully  and 
smiled  as  pleasantly,  as  ever  bowed  and  smiled  a  lady  in  the 
dress  circles  of  a  Parisian  Opera-house.  It  was  really  charm- 
ing to  behold  such  unruffled  politeness.  "  Oh,  Monsieur  Gen- 


A.N  EXTRAORDINARY  AFFAIR.  405 

eral !  Monsieur  General !  was  all  she  could  say — "  duel  jolie 
ville,  Tantura  !  duel  hotel  Parisien  !  Oh,  Mon  Dieu  !'  and 
throwing  up  her  hands,  she  sank  down  again  upon  the  bag- 
gage in  the  most  graceful  manner.  I  verily  believe  if  it 
were  the  fate  of  the  Madam  to  be  seized  by  a  Royal  Bengal 
tiger  she  would  melt  him  by  her  politeness,  or  die  gracefully 
in  his  teeth. 

Doctor  Mendoza's  skin  was  greener  than  ever  ;  that  is  to 
say,  the  green  predominated,  but  there  were  yellow  spots,  and 
jred  and  black  spots  all  over  his  face,  which  gave  some 
variety  of  color  to  his  features.  There  was  but  little  variety 
in  the  expression,  however,  for  it  was  that  of  unmitigated  dis- 
gust for  Tantura  and  its  accommodations.  The  comers  of 
his  mouth  almost  tied  themselves  in  a  knot  under  his  chin, 
and  his  under  lip  formed  a  perfect  representation  of  a  piece 
of  beef-steak  thoroughly  saturated  with  water. 

"  Good-morning,  Doctor,"  said  I ;  "  how  did  you  pass  the 
night?" 

"  No  pass  de  night !"  replied  the  Doctor  gloomily,  "  'tis  im- 
poss  to  sleep.  Very  bad  place  dis.  Hotel  are  not  good  in 
Tantura.  Very  bad  hotel.  De  Madam  is  indispose.  He 
shall  have  pleasure  to  arrive  at  Beirut.  Very  good  hotel  in 
Beirut.  I  no  like  dis  country.  Tis  interess  for  the  ruin,  but 
I  no  like  the  ruin  for  sleep  in,  cos  'tis  irnposs  to  sleep.  Very 
much  pulce  for  bite.  No  get  much  to  eat  here ;  no  much 
flesh  on  the  Arab  for  manger.  'Tis  necess  for  eat  de  traveler. 
I  shall  be  tres  contents  to  leave  Tantura — 'Tis  imposs  to  re- 
main here." 

I  really  felt  very  sorry  for  the  Doctor ;  he  looked  so  green 
and  dejected,  so  utterly  incapable  of  enjoying  misery,  so 
wrapt  up  in  that  single  idea  of  a  comfortable  hotel,  that  I 
declare  upon  rny  honor  had  it  been  in  my  power  I  would  have 
built  a  hotel  on  the  spot,  and  given  him  the  very  best  room 
in  it.  There  was  no  help  for  him,  however  ;  and  expressing 
my  sympathy  for  his  unhappy  condition,  I  returned  into  the 
hut  to  dispatch  a  hasty  cup  of  coffee  before  starting  upon  our 
journey. 

Yusef  had  prepared  a  good  breakfast  of  stewed  chicken  and 


406  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

rice ;  but  having  no  appetite,  I  contented  myself  with  the 
coffee  and  a  small  piece  of  bread  ;  after  which  I  called  for  a 
chibouck,  and  endeavored  to  soothe  my  nervous  system  by  a 
comfortable  smoke.  The  conversation  turned  incidentally 
upon  the  affair  of  the  onions.  I  was  averse  to  any  allusion  to 
so  humiliating  an  episode  in  our  tour,  and  made  several  at- 
tempts to  change  the  subject.  It  was  no  easy  matter,  as  may 
be  supposed,  to  silence  our  dragoman  when  any  thing  unusual 
was  weighing  upon  his  mind  ;  he  had  to  give  vent  to  his  in- 
dignation in  some  way,  and  the  most  natural  was  by  talking. 
Although  he  spoke  in  English  which  it  was  not  likely  the 
old  Arab  woman  understood,  he  had  hitherto  kept  a  guarded 
watch  upon  his  tongue  ;  but  now  finding  she  had  disappear- 
ed, he  broke  forth  in  his  usual  strain  of  violence.  He  de- 
nounced the  whole  female  sex  as  the  root  of  all  evil ;  he  pro- 
tested that  he  would  sooner  be  tied  to  the  tail  of  a  wild  horse 
than  to  any  female  that  ever  breathed  ;  he  swore  that  the 
insult  offered  by  that  old  hag  to  his  beloved  friend  and  mas- 
ter, would  rankle  in  his  breast  until  he  had  slain  every  male 
member  in  the  family.  I  was  greatly  moved  at  this  avowal 
of  sympathy  and  devotion,  and  did  my  best  to  soothe  the 
excited  feelings  of  Yusef,  by  telling  him  that  the  greatest  of 
mankind  were  subject  to  the  caprices  of  fate ;  that  charges 
alike  humiliating  had  been  preferred  against  high  officers  of 
state  and  other  great  men,  who  required  far  more  to  be  dis- 
tinguished for  integrity  than  myself;  that  in  the  present  case 
this  was  an  ignorant  old  woman,  who  was  more  to  be  pitied 
for  her  ignorance  than  blamed  for  the  injustice  she  had  done 
me ;  that  it  was  very  true  many  evils  in  this  life  could  be 
traced  to  the  gentler  sex,  yet  we  could  not  well  do  without 
this  source  of  trouble,  for  were  we  alprie  in  the  world  we 
would  find  ourselves  much  more  miserable,  and  in  all  proba- 
bility would  pine  away  for  want  of  something  to  make  us 
only  as  unhappy  as  we  were  before,  and  in  the  end  become 
totally  extinct.  To  this  Yusef  replied  that  he  felt  the  full 
force  of  my  remarks,  and  would  even  go  as  far  as  to  admit 
that  perhaps  this  was  one  of  the  necessary  evils  of  life  ;  but 
what  he  most  insisted  upon  was,  that  there  was  no  other  evil 


AN  EXTRAORDINARY  AFFAIR.  407 

that  did  not  spring  from  the  female  sex ;  in  illustration  of 
which  he  related  the  well-known  case  of  the  Persian  Shah, 
who  had  repeatedly  demonstrated  the  truth  of  the  axiom.  I 
had  read  about  this  case  somewhere,  and  it  was  already 
known  to  me,  hut  inasmuch  as  the  reader  may  not  be  famil- 
iar with  it,  I  may  as  well  add  that  this  renowned  Shah  was 
in  the  habit  of  asking,  whenever  any  disaster  occurred — Who 
was  she  ?  meaning  thereby,  who  was  the  female  that  caused 
it.  On  one  occasion  a  poor  stone-mason  fell  from  the  top  of 
a  house  and  broke  his  leg.  The  Shah  demanded  the  name  of 
the  woman.  His  attendants  said  it  was  not  a  woman,  but  a 
poor  stone-mason.  "  Who  was  she?"  repeated  the  Shah.  "Go 
find  out  what  woman  caused  this  accident."  The  attendants 
did  so  ;  they  inquired  of  the  poor  mason,  and  ascertained  that 
while  he  was  at  work  on  the  top  of  the  house,  he  saw  a  beau- 
tiful woman  in  the  street,  and  in  leaning  over  to  see  her 
the  better,  he  lost  his  balance  and  fell  to  the  ground.  Such 
was  the  cause  of  the  accident ;  "  And"  said  Yusef,  alluding 
perhaps  remotely  to  a  certain  feat  of  horsemanship,  and  a 
certain  bad  dream  concerning  a  lion,  in  the  earlier  part  of 
the  journey,  "  such  is  the  cause  of  all  the  disasters  that  have 

ever " 

Here  the  conversation  was  cut  short  by  the  most  dreadful 
series  of  noises  that  I  had  heard  during  the  whole  journey. 
My  first  impression  was  that  we  were  besieged  by  a  party  of 
mounted  Bedouins  ;  for  the  yelling  of  horses  and  the  shrieking 
arid  screaming  of  Arabs  were  perfectly  deafening.  I  looked 
appealingly  to  Yusef.  He  was  qur  only  hope  of  salvation  in  the 
terrible  emergency  of  the  moment.  At  first  he  turned  pale, 
evidently  with  joy  at  the  prospect  of  a  fight ;  then  hearing 
the  noises  more  distinctly,  he  sprang  to  his  feet,  seized  his 
sword  and  rushed  out,  foaming  with  rage.  The  tall  South- 
erner and  myself,  loth  to  see  him  sacrificed  in  our  defense, 
without  striking  a  blow  in  our  own  behalf,  followed  him  with 
what  weapons  we  could  snatch  up  in  the  hurry  of  the  occa-- 
sion.  Upon  reaching  the  open  space  in  front  of  the  hut,  we 
beheld  a  sight  that  might  well  astonish  and  confound  tho 
most  experienced  of  travelers. 


408  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

Several  of  the  horses  belonging  to  Dr.  Mendoza's  party,  and 
our  own  three,  were  twisted  up  in  a  convulsed  group,  in  all 
the  fury  of  mortal  combat !  Syed  Sulemin  was  standing  on 
his  hind-legs  in  the  very  rnidst  of  the  contending  parties, 
striking  out  frantically  with  his  fore-legs  in  every  direction. 
The  iron-gray,  with  his  head  outside  of  the  circle,  was  kick- 
ing behind  him  to  the  extreme  extent  of  his  power  ;  and  Sal- 
adin — alas,  that  I  should  be  called  upon  to  narrate  so  dis- 
graceful a  proceeding  on  the  part  of  a  descendant  of  the  re- 
nowned Ashrik  !  Saladin,  regardless  of  that  high  fraternal 
spirit  which  shguld  prevail  even  among  horses  against  a  com- 
mon enemy,  was  biting  Syed  Sulemin  !  actually  tearing  and 
torturing  with  his  teeth  the  very  flesh  out  of  the  rear  of  a 
fellow- warrior !  Well  might  the  noble  Sulemin  keenly  feel 
this  unkindest  cut  of  all — the  common  enemy  bearing  down 
upon  him  on  the  right 'and  on  the  left  and  in  front ;  and  a 
sharp  fire  in  the  rear  from  one  who  should  have  given  him 
all  needful  aid  and  comfort. 

All  the  Arabs  belonging  to  both  parties  were  running 
around  with  cudgels  in  their  hands  beating  the  horses,  and 
striving  by  that  means,  and  by  the  most  terrific  shouts,  to 
separate  them.  Emanuel  Balthos,  the  dragoman  of  the  Portu- 
guese party,  was  also  running  about ;  but  he  was  judiciously 
beating  the  Arabs  for  suffering  the  horses  to  fight,  and  not 
the  horses  for  fighting.  Yusef  upon  seeing  that  some  of  his 
own  Arabs  received  the  chief  portion  of  the  punishment,  rush- 
ed into  the  battle  and  cudgeled  the  Arabs  of  Emanuel  Balthos: 
Doctor  Mendoza,  apprehensive  that  the  fight  was  becoming 
general,  danced  all  about,  tearing  his  hair,  and  calling  upon 
Yusef  and  Emanuel  and  the  Arabs  and  the  horses — all  to 
stop  fighting  for  God's  sake,  or  it  would  frighten  the  Madam 
out  of  "his  wits."  He  shouted  in  Portuguese,  in  French,  in 
Italian,  in  English ;  he  protested  that  the  "  Madam  was  in- 
dispose ;"  that  it  was  "  necess  to  remain  tranquil,"  but  all 
in  vain — there  was  no  stopping  the  fight ;  and  in  the  ex- 
tremity of  his  despair,  he  wrung  his  hands,  and  groaned — 
"  'Tis  imposs  !  'tis  imposs  !"  The  Madam  shrieked  wildly,  in 
her  anxiety  for  the  safety  of  the  Doctor  ;  she  shrieked  alter- 


AN  EXTRAORDINARY  AFFAIR.  409 

nately,  "  Man  Dieu!  Mon  Dieu!"  and  "  Docteur !  Doc- 
tntr .'"  and  strove  several  times  to  faint  upon  the  pile  of 
baggage,  but  was  unable  to  do  so  on  account  of  the  interest 
she  felt  in  the  progress  of  the  contest. 

Eventually  the  whole  affair  was  brought  to  a  conclusion 
in  a  very  singular  manner.  Tokina,  the  ass,  having  receiv- 
ed a  kick  from  one  of  the  horses,  doubtless,  for  casting  ridi- 
cule upon  the  battle  by  incessantly  braying,  ran  to  the  mules 
for  satisfaction  :  they  being  tied  fast  to  a  shed,  were  rather 
more  contracted  in  their  sphere  of  action.  The  sudden  and 
violent  attack  which  he  made  upon  this  party,  caused  them 
to  show  their  resentment  with  one  accord  ;  and  so  unanimous 
was  the  strain  upon  the  shed,  that  it  fell  to  the  ground  with 
a  tremendous  crash,  filling  the  air  with  dust  and  fragments, 
and  totally  confounding  every  animal  and  every  spectator  on 
the  entire  premises.  The  strife  was  at  an  end.  The  horses 
were  led  away  panting  ;  the  mules  were  unfastened  from  the 
wreck  of  matter ;  and  Tokina,  the  peacemaker,  ran  off  as 
fast  as  he  could  toward  Acre,  braying  hysterically  at  the  ab- 
surd issue  to  which  he  had  brought  the  whole  affair,  and  the 
contempt  which  he  had  thereby  cast  upon  every  body  con- 
cerned in  it  except  himself.  I  could  not  but  feel  vexed  and 
mortified  at  this  insulting  conduct  on  the  part  of  Tokina  :  and 
I  really  thought  when  I  caught  the  last  glimpse  of  his  ears 
in  the  distance  that  he  was  as  great  an  ass  as  anybody. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  upon  a  general  review  of 
the  circumstances,  it  was  ascertained  that  the  whole  difficulty 
orginated  in  a  matter  of  jealousy  between  Syed  Sulernin  and 
my  horse  Saladin. 

8 


CHAPTER  LV. 

RISE,    DECLINE,    AND   FALL    OP    YUSEF   BADRA. 

NATIONS  have  had  their  good  and  evil  fortune,  and,  accord- 
ing to  all  the  evidences  of  history,  the  vicissitudes  of  prosperity 
and  adversity  which  have  attended  them,  have  invariably  re- 
suited  from  in  their  own  good  or  evil  conduct.  So  we  find  it 
even  more  immediately  apparent  in  the  case  of  individuals. 
The  fate  of  my  renowned  dragoman,  friend,  and  leader,  Yusef 
Badra,  furnishes,  perhaps,  one  of  the  most  striking  illustrations 
on  record. 

I  have  endeavored  to  show  in  the  course  of  this  narrative 
that  Yusef  was,  by  nature  and  education,  fierce  and  unrelent- 
ing in  his  prejudices  ;  that  the  two  ruling  prejudices  of  his  life 
were,  an  innate  hostility  to  the  female  sex,  and  au  insatiable 
thirst  for  the  blood  of  his  fellow-creatures ;  that  to  restrain  him 
from  the  indulgence  of  these  unfortunate  propensities,  was  my 
constant  endeavor  throughout  the  entire  journey.  From  the 
time  of  leaving  Jerusalem,  this  task,  partly  of  friendship  and 
partly  of  self-preservation,  became  daily  more  arduous  ;  and  so 
much  trouble  did  it  occasion  me,  that  I  often  felt  disposed  to 
abandon  him  to  his  fate.  All  the  nieces,  whom  he  failed  to 
meet  on  the  road  after  leaving  Damascus,  he  met  in  Jerusa- 
lem. Despising.the  whole  sex,  as  he  did,  he  nevertheless  felt 
it  to  be  his  duty  to  call  upon  his  relations,  for  the  sake  of  his 
deceased  uncle,  whose  memory  he  considered  himself  bound  to 
honor.  Now,  these  nieces,  as  well  as  all  that  he  had  previ- 
ously met  in  Baalbek  and  elsewhere,  knowing  his  repugnance  to 
the  sex,  always  maliciously  contrived  to  make  him  drunk  with 
arrack,  BO  as  to  humble  him  in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  It  was 
entirely  in  vain  that  I  represented  to  him  the  weakness  of  suf- 


RISE,  DECLINE,  AND  FALL  OF  YUSEF  BADRA.     41 1 

fering  himself  to  be  caught  by  their  snares  ;  he  declared  that 
they  were  as  cunning  as  &o  many  devils,  and  that  a  man  might 
as  well  undertake  to  live  without  eating  or  drinking,  as  to 
avoid  the  snares  of  woman ;  in  short,  as  he  had  often  said 
before,  that  the  female  sex  was  the  root  of  all  evil. 

Scarcely  a  town  on  the  coast,  as  we  drew  near  Beirut,  was 
free  from  these  temptations.  At  Acre,  we  slept  in  a  very  fine 
house,  owned  by  the  husband  of  Yusef 's  most  beautiful  niece. 
This  one  he  hated  more  than  all  the  rest,  because  she  was 
more  malicious.  She  made  him  drunk  so  soon,  that  when  he 
brought  us  in  our  supper,  it  was  with  difficulty  he  could  stand 
upright ;  and  all  the  English  he  remembered  was  the  burden 
of  a  song  which  I  had  taught  him  on  the  road,  in  the  hope  of 
overcoming  his  absurd  prejudice  against  womankind.  Even 
that  he  was  puzzled  to  get  exactly  right.  At  first  he  had  it : 

"  Oh,  believe  me,  if  all  those  endearing  young  arms, 

Which  are  twined  round  me  fondly  to-day, 
Were  to  change  by  to-morrow,  and  lose  all  their  charms — " 

And  then  finding  himself  at  a  loss  for  what  was  to  follow,  h«* 
began  again: 

"Oh,  endear  me,  if  all  those  believing  young  arms 

Were  to  twine  round  nie  fondly  to-day, 
I'd  change  by  to-morrow,  and  fleet  iu  those  charms — " 

But  that  was  not  right ;  he  thought  he  must  have  been  right 
at  first  : 

"  Oh,  gaze  on  me  fondly,  if  all  those  young  charms, 
Which  are  twined  round  my  arms  to-day — " 

And  so  on,  till  I  was  forced  in  self-defense  to  request  silence, 
and  sing  the  song  myself,  which  so  inspired  Yusef  that  he 
danced  all  around  the  room  ;  then  made  a  fierce  and  sudden 
attack  upon  Francesco,  the  boy,  whom  he  conquered  in  a  mo- 
ment;  and  finally  declared  he  loved  his  glorious  General,  he 
loved  the  tall  Southerner,  and  he  loved  Francesco,  and  he 
loved  Syed  Sulemin,  and  he  loved  Tqkina  the  ass ;  nay,  by 
heavens !  he  almost  loved  his  niece  !  In  this  happy  frame  of 
mind,  he  retired  to  remote  and  unknown  parts  of  the  house. 


412  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

and  we  saw  nothing  of  him  again  till  morning;  when,  a* 
usual  of  late,  he  looked  morose  and  gloomy,  and  beat  all  the 
muleteers.  Truly,  saith  Socrates,  doth  intemperance  rob  us 
of  our  reason,  that  chief  excellence  of  man,  and  drive  us  to 
commit  the  very  greatest  disorders. 

Thus,  it  will  be  seen,  commenced  the  decline  of  Yusef  Ba- 
dra.  His  rise  took  place  on  the  journey  to  Jerusalem.  At 
Baalbek,  he  rose  rather  high.  At  Damascus  he  rose  higher. 
At  Jerusalem  he  rose  highest.  Now  commenced  his  decline. 
That  very  day,  on  the  journey  to  Tyre,  as  we  were  going 
through  a  narrow  pass,  we  met  a  caravan  of  camels.  Yusef, 
incensed  at  the  driver  of  the  first  camel  for  not  getting  out  of 
the  way,  came  very  near  slaying  both  the  man  and  the  camel 
on  the  spot ;  and  would  have  done  so,  had  not  the  man  exhib- 
ited so  much  spirit  and  courage  that  it  struck  the  warlike  sowl 
of  Badra  with  admiration  ;  he  not  only  pardoned  the  offense, 
but  cordially  shook  hands  with  the  offender  and  passed  on.  I 
saw  with  pain  and  anxiety  that  Yusef  was  daily  giving  way 
more  and  more  to  his  fierce  passions  ;  and.  that  sooner  or  later, 
it  must  end  in  his  utter  ruin.  On  the  occasion  of  this  diffi- 
culty, therefore,  I  deemed  it  my  duty  to  warn  him  of  the  re- 
sults that  would  probably  ensue  from  this  unlimited  sway  of 
courage. 

'  What,"  said  I,  "  would  have  been  the  consequence  had 
that  man  been  a  coward  ?  You  would  have  slain  him  on  the 
spot — run  him  through  the  body  with  your  sword.  I  saw  it 
in  your  ey:,  Yusef;  don't  deny  it ;  I  saw  that  you  meant  to 
do  it." 

"Do  it?"  cried  Yusef,  smiling  proudly.  "Fight  a  single 
man?  a  miserable  camel-driver  ?  No,  sir  ;  I  merely  intended 
to  cut  his  head  off  with  one  blow,  so  that  he  never  would 
find  out  till  he  sneezed  that  it  was  off  at  all ;  the  carnel  1 
should  simply  have  ripped  open." 

"  That's  precisely  what  I  mean.  The  man  was  not  a  cow- 
ard, and,  therefore,  you  admired  him,  and  felt  that  he  was  a 
congenial  soul.  You  spared  his  life ;  you  shook  hands  with 
him  ;  you  loved  him  as  a  brother.  But  had  he  been  a  cow- 
ard, as  I  before  said,  what  would  have  been  the  consequence? 


RISE,  DECLINE,  AND  FALL  U*   YUSEF  BADRA      413 

A.  momentary  pleasure  to  you,  would  have  been  death  to  him. 
For  I  certainly  could  not  have  arrested  your  arm,  situated  as 
we  were  in  a  narrow  pass." 

"  It  is  even  as  your  Excellency  says,"  replied  Yusef,  with 
deep  contrition  ;  "  such,  indeed,  was  rny  intention.  I  freely 
confess  it.  But  consider,  beloved  General,  the  circumstances, 
I  may  say  the  character  and  extent  of  the  provocation.  For 
nearly  forty  days  have  I  restrained  myself  to  gratify  your  Ex- 
cellency. Never  before  have  I  performed  the  journey  through 
Syria  without  killing  at  least  six  men.  This  time  what  have 
I  killed  ?  My  sword  and  fire-arms  are  fairly  rusty  for  want  of 
use.  Not  a  single  life  have  I  taken  up  to  the  present  date." 

"You  are  certainly  mistaken  in  that,  Yusef.  I  saw  you 
cut  the  heads  off  of  more  than  a  hundred  chickens  before  we 
reached  Jerusalem,  and  I  have  your  own  word  for  it  that  you 
killed  a  gazelle  on  the  plains  of  Esdraelon.  Besides  that,  you 
struck  terror  into  the  soul  of  every  suspicious  vagabond  on  the 
road  ;  and  I'll  venture  to  assert  that  many  of  them  have  since 
died  from  fright,  which,  the  experience  of  medical  men  suffi- 
ciently demonstrates,  has  frequently  produced  that  result. 
Now,  I  hold,  that  you  might  as  well  kill  a  man  as  frighten 
him  to  death." 

"  Your  Excellency  is  right,"  cried  Yusef;  "  I  did  do  some 
trifling  service  in  that  way,  merely  to  keep  my  hand  in.  I 
likewise  killed  a  couple  of  men  in  Jerusalem,  as  a  matter  of 
amusement.  I  had  forgotten  the  circumstance.  However,  I 
shall  never  be  able  to  show  my  face  in  Beirut,  or  sleep  soundly 
on  my  arrival  there,  without  killing  at  least  one  more  ;  and 
I  ask  it,  as  a  special  favor,  that  your  Excellency  will  not  deny 
me  this  pleasure." 

"  Most  emphatically  I  forbid  it,  Yusef.  Furthermore,  I 
take  this  occasion  to  declare  that.if  you  attack  or  molest  in 
any  way  a  single  unoffending  person  between  this  and  Beirut, 
I  shall  put  you  in  a  book.  Not  one  of  your  daring  and  intrepid 
acts  has  escaped  my  notice.  These  frightful  exhibitions  of 
chivalry — these  perils  that  you  are  continually  rushing  upon, 
endangering  not  only  your  own  life  but  the  lives  of  the  whole 
party,  shall  be  fully  described  and  held  up  to  the  traveling  com- 


414  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

mumty,  to  warn  them  of  the  evil  effects  of  misguided  courage. 
Yusef  Badra  shall  become  a  name  not  only  feared  throughout 
Syria,  but  a  terror  throughout  the  whole  civilized  world  !" 

This  threat,  which  I  made  with  all  the  force  and  emphasis 
necessary  to  give  it  full  effect,  did  not  allay  in  any  degree  the 
fiery  zeal  of  my  dragoman.  Scarcely  had  I  concluded,  when 
he  seized  my  hand  in  the  most  enthusiastic  manner,  and  said — 

"  By  all  the  compromises  of  Earth,  0  General,  I  would 
slay  ten  thousand  men,  and  die  ten  thousand  deaths  to  oblige 
your  Excellency  !  If  you  deem  me  worthy  of  figuring  in  this 
important  history  of  which  you  speak,  I  only  ask  that  you  will 
call  me  by  my  proper  name,  and  give  me  no  fictitious  title." 

"  T'll  do  it,  Yusef — I'll  certainly  do  it ;  so  I  warn  you  ;  be 
on  your  guard." 

With  that,  to  my  great  surprise,  he  gave  vent  to  his  fearful 
war-cry,  Badra  !  Badra  for  fiver !  and  before  I  could  utter  a 
word,  dashed  off  at  full  speed.  It  was  in  vain  that  I  shouted  tc 
him  to  stop ;  there  was  no  stopping  him  now ;  and  as  I  rodr 
along,  restraining  by  every  possible  means  the  fiery  spirit  ol 
Saladin,  my  mind  was  filled  with  the  most  gloomy  forebodings 
I  felt  quite  sure  that  something  dreadful  was  going  to  happen 
Oh  that  insatiable  thirst  for  fame  !  How  it 

" Heaps  the  plain  with  mountains  of  the  dead, 

Nor  "ends  with  life,  but  nods  in  sable  plumes, 
Adorns  our  hearse,  and  flatters  on  our  tombs!" 

As  we  drew  near  Beirut,  we  stopped  at  every  house  on  the 
road-side  to  inquire  if  Yusef  had  passed.  The  muleteers  had 
gone  on ;  and  the  party  now  being  reduced  to  the  tall  South- 
erner and  myself,  we  were  compelled  to  depend  altogether 
upon  signs  for  the  information  we  sought — pronouncing  in 
various  different  ways  the  name  of  our  leader  and  the  word 
dragoman,  and  then  pointing  up  the  road.  The  answers  were 
Invariably  to  the  same  effect,  and  being  communicated  in 
signs  they  were  singularly  dramatic.  We  judged,  from  the 
frantic  manner  in  which  these  signs  were  made,  that  a  furious 
horseman  had  passed,  that  he  was  armed  with  guns,  pistols, 
and  knives  ;  that  he  flourished  his  sword  at  every  body  in  the 
most  terrific  manner ;  that  he  smote  the  very  air  for  breath- 


UISE,  DECLINE,  AND  FALL  OF  YUSEF  BADRA.     415 

ing  in  his  face,  and  vanished  in  a  cloud  of  dust.  The  descrip- 
tion was  not  to  be  mistaken.  No  other  horseman  thanYusef 
could  be  meant. 

Within  six  miles  of  Beirut,  we  overtook  a  withered  little 
man,  hobbling  along  and  talking  strangely  to  himself:  he 
stopped  when  he  saw  us,  and  running  up  began  howling 
frantically  at  us  in  Arabic,  and  flourishing  his  hands  in  the 
air,  and  beating  his  sides  by  turns  in  the  strangest  manner, 
as  if  entirely  bereft  of  his  senses.  Our  first  thought  was  that 
the  poor  fellow  was  drunk  or  crazy ;  our  next  that  he  was  a 
beggar,  and  wanted  alms.  We  threw  him  a  few  piastres, 
which  set  him  to  howling  louder  than  ever,  nor  did  he  stop 
his  violent  gesticulations  to  pick  them  up,  but  ran  after  us  as 
we  rode  on,  working  himself  into  a  perfect  phrensy.  That 
he  was  an  unfortunate  lunatic,  we  were  now  thoroughly  con- 
vinced ;  he  ran  after  us  for  as  much  as  a  mile,  sometimes 
catching  our  horses  by  the  tails  and  trying  to  stop  them  ;  and 
Avhen  he  found  that  we  still  continued  on,  he  at  length  flung 
himself  prostrate  on  the  ground,  rolled  over  and  over,  and 
howled  like  a  hyena.  The  whole  thing  was  unaccountable 
and  singular.  Not  the  remotest  idea  of  the  cause  occurred 
to  either  of  us.  Unable  to  do  any  thing  for  the  poor  fellow, 
we  rode  on  as  fast  as  we  could  to  the  nearest  hut,  which  was 
in  sight,  and  made  signs  to  some  Arabs  there  to  go  back  and 
see  what  was  the  matter.  To  this  the  only  reply  we  could  get 
was  a  perfect  torrent  of  Arabic,  and  the  most  threatening  and 
indignant  looks,  mingled  with  the  words — Beirut !  Beirut ! 

I  declare,  for  my  own  part,  that  I  was  completely  struck 
aghast  with  mystery.  Certainly  it  was  the  most  singular  oc- 
currence that  had  happened  during  the  entire  journey.  What 
could  it  mean  ?  Was  the  man  mad  ?  Were  all  the  Arabs 
near  Beirut  bereft  of  their  senses  ?  In  truth,  it  seemed  so ; 
and  entirely  unable  to  come  to  any  other  understanding  in 
regard  to  the  matter  we  pushed  on  rapidly ;  and  in  about  an 
hour  more  entered  the  suburbs  of  Beirut. 

It  was  a  delightful  evening.  The  civilized  appearance  of 
the  town,  after  all  the  ruinous  places  we  had  seen,  the  fa- 
miliar masts  of  the  shipping,  the  stir  and  activity  every  where, 

s* 


416  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

had  an  indescribably  pleasant  effect.  It  seemed  quite  like 
returning  home,  after  a  long  absence.  I  thought,  when  we 
drew  up  in  the  neat  front  yard  of  Demetrie's  Hotel,  that  it 
was  the  cleanest  and  most  pleasant-looking  place  I  had  ever 
seen  ;  that  the  Arabs  lounging  about  were  all  dandies  of  the 
first  rank  in  the  world  of  fashion ;  that  Demetrie  was  the 
finest-looking  man,  with  his  splendid  mustache  and  Albanian 
costume,  that  could  be  found  in  the  whole  East ;  and,  in 
short,  that  every  thing  and  every  body  looked  wonderfully 
new  and  civilized. 

Yusef  was  not  there.  He  had  arrived  ;  had  embraced  his 
friend  Demetrie,  who  admitted  that  he  was  a  little  under  the 
influence  of  arrack ;  and,  as  well  as  we  could  understand 
from  the  drift  of  Demetrie's  hints,  had  gone  off"  to  see  one  of 
his  nieces,  to  whom  he  had  a  letter  from  another  niece  in 
Jerusalem. 

It  was  not  until  after  breakfast  the  next  morning,  that  we 
enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  seeing  Yusef.  He  was  standing  out 
in  the  front  yard,  dressed  in  the  most  gorgeous  of  Oriental 
costumes.  His  turban  was  of  the  richest  texture  and  most 
flashing  colors ;  his  vest  actually  glittered  with  gilded  em- 
broidery and  silver  buttons  ;  his  sash  was  of  flaming  vermil- 
ion ;  his  sword  and  atagar  of  Damascus,  dazzled  the  eye  as 
they  swung  by  his  side  in  the  morning  sun-bearns ;  his  legs 
were  swathed  in  crimson  velvet ;  and  his  feet  seemed  to  spurn 
the  earth  in  the  glory  of  yellow  embroidered  slippers,  the 
richest  productions  of  Aleppo.  I  declare,  without  exaggera- 
tion, when  I  saw  him  thus  encircled  by  an  admiring  crowd, 
rolling  out  torrents  of  rich  Arabic,  as  he  gracefully  waved  his 
hands  in  the  air,  showing  with  what  ease  he  had  encountered 
the  Bedouins  from  Damascus  to  the  Dead  Sea,  I  thought  he 
was  the  most  graceful,  warlike,  and  distinguished-looking  man 
the  world  had  ever  produced.  When  I  approached  and  said : 
"  Good-morning,  Yusef;  how  do  you  do  ?"  it  was  really  flat- 
tering to  my  feelings,  the  mingled  dignity  and  deference  with 
which  he  bowed  to  me,  and  the  Oriental  richness  of  the  fig- 
ures of  speech  which  he  made  use  of  in  returning  the  compli- 
ments of  the  morning. 


RISE,  DECLINE,  AND  FALL  OF  YUSEF  BADRA.     417 

"  Brightest  ornament  of  the  glorious  land -of  Liberty,"  said 
he,  "  radiant  and  most  effulgent  miracle  of  Generals,  most 
graceful,  extraordinary,  arid  accomplished  horseman ;  thou 
who  fearest  neither  man  nor  beast ;  thou  who  hast  traversed 
the  dangerous  and  devious  windings  of  the  desert  mountains 
of  Syria,  like  the  flaming  planet  that  was  deemed  worthy  to 
be  worshiped  by  the  great  Zoroaster ; — behold  !  I,  who  have 
never  bowed  to  Bedouin  foe  ;  I,  who  would  scorn  to  bend  the 
knee  by  compulsion  before  the  grand  Sovereign  of  all  the 
Turkeys ;  I,  Yusef  Badra,  kiss  the  hem  of  thy  garment,  and 
greet  thee  with  the  willing  devotion  of  a  heart  steeped  to  the 
core  in  human  blood  ! — a  heart  that  seldom  throbs  save  in  a 
crimson  sea  of  gore  !" 

In  this  strain  he  talked  for  some  time,  greatly  to  the  ad- 
miration of  all  the  surrounding  Arabs ;  after  which,  we  set 
out,  under  his  guidance,  to  make  some  purchases  in  the  ba- 
zaars. As  we  were  strolling  along  leisurely  through  the 
streets  of  Beirut,  I  took  advantage  of  the  occasion  to  ask 
Yusef  the  reason  of  his  mysterious  disappearance  on  the  road. 
He  changed  color  a  little  at  the  abruptness  of  the  question  ; 
but  quickly  answered  that  it  was  merely  for  the  purpose  of 
killing  a  man,  of  whom  he  had  heard  strange  accounts  in 
Sidon.  This  man,  it  appeared,  was  of  gigantic  stature,  seven 
feet  high  at  least,  and  large  in  proportion ;  every  body  on  the 
road  was  afraid  of  him  ;  he  had  even  threatened,  in  case  he 
ever  met  Yusef  Badra,  to  clip  the  ears  from  the  head  of  that 
individual ;  which,  taken  altogether,  so  aroused  the  soul  of 
Badra,  that  he  had  determined  upon  putting  this  braggart  to 
death.  After  his  (Yusef's)  conversation  with  his  beloved 
General,  being  inspired  thereby,  and  reminded  of  this  giant, 
he  set  out  full  speed  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  his  purpose 
into  execution.  He  had  not  gone  more  than  a  few  miles 
when  he  discovered  the  giant,  concealed  behind  a  rock,  wait- 
ing for  him.  Maddened  at  the  cowardice  of  this  trick,  he 
put  spurs  to  Syed  Sulemin,  dashed  straight  up  to  the  spot 
with  drawn  sword,  and  challenged  the  miserable  wretch  to 
stand  forth  and  defend  himself.  The  miserable  wretch  was 
even  taller  than  he  was  represented  to  be — eight  feet  high  at 


418  A  CRUSADE  IN  THE  EAST. 

least.  But,  in  despite  of  that,  finding  him  unwilling  to  close 
in  the  fight,  Yusef  dismounted  and  beat  him  with  the  flat  of 
his  sword  till  the  poor  braggart  cried  out  that  he  was  killed, 
conquered,  overwhelmed,  and  completely  satisfied.  "Doubt- 
less he  is  dead  by  this  time,"  added  Yusef,  with  great  coolness, 
"it  is  impossible  that  he  could  have  long  survived  the  fright 
and  the  beating  together." 

At  this  juncture,  I  was  astonished  to  perceive  that  Yusef 
turned  ghastly  pale  ;  his  knees  knocked  together,  and  he  was 
transfixed  to  the  ground  like  one  who  unexpectedly  discovers 
a  spectre.  Following  the  direction  of  his  starting  eyes,  I  be- 
held two  Turkish  soldiers  within  a  few  steps,  walking  straight 
up  to  him.  "  Excuse  me,  gentlemen,"  said  Yusef,  turning 
to  us,  with  a  ghastly  smile,  "  I — I — have  a  1-1-little  busi- 
ness to  settle."  At  the  same  moment,  the  Turkish  soldiers 
laid  their  hands  upon  his  shoulders,  uttered  a  few  words  in  a 
low  tone  of  voice,  took  him  each  by  the  arm,  and  walked  off 
rapidly,  leaving  both  my  friend  and  myself  perfectly  amazed 
and  confounded. 

.  Alas  !  need  I  tell  it  ?  this  was  the  fall  of  Yusef  Badra ! 
In  two  hours  the  whole  town  of  Beirut  was  in  commotion. 
It  was  cried  aloud  in  Greek,  in  Arabic,  in  Italian,  in  French, 
in  English — Have  you  heard  the  news  ?  Yusef  Badra's  in 
jail !  Badra's  in  jail !  Badra !  Badra !  God  help  poor 
Badra  !  Sad  is  the  fate  of  Badra  !  Poor  Badra  !  Unhappy 
Badra  ! 

We  returned  toward  Demetrie's.  The  pathway  was  lined 
with  Arabs,  friends,  and  fellow  citizens  of  the  fallen  Badra. 
They  cried  aloud  to  us,  as  we  passed,  Howadji !  Howadji ! 
Badra!  Badra! 

We  entered  the  yard  in  front  of  Demetrie's.  It  was  filled 
with  muleteers  who  had  served  under  Badra  ;  among  whom 
we  recognized  our  own  Mustapha.  They  cried  out  to  us,  0 
Howadji !  Howadji !  Badra  !  Badra  ! — Mustapha  caught  us 
frantically  by  the  coat-tails,  and  wept  aloud,  while  he  pointed 
toward  the  jail,  and  cried,  Badra  !  Badra  ! 

We  met  Demetrie  in  the  saloon.  His  fine  face  was  clouded 
with  trouble.  "  Have  you  heard  the  news  ?"  said  he,  "  Ba 


RISE,  DECLINE,  AND  FALL  OF  YUSEF  BADRA.     419 

lira's  in  jail !  Yusef  Badra's  in  jail.  0,  Howadji !  can't  you 
get  him  out !  He's  a  good  fellow  !  He  drinks  ;  but  he's  a 
good  fellow  !  0  Howadji !  Howadji !  Badra  !  Badra  !" 

We  went  straightway  down  to  the  office  of  the  American 
consul.  At  the  door  we  met  Eleas,  the  servant  of  the  En- 
glish captain,  who  was  weeping  bitterly.  "  Badra's  in  jail," 
he  cried,  "  poor  Yusef  Badra !  They  put  him  in  jail  for 
nothing  at  all — they'll  punish  him  for  nothing  at  all — only 
beating  a  miserable  Turk  on  the  road !  0,  Howadji !  How- 
adji !  save  him !  Save  poor  Yusef,  your  friend  and  drago- 
rnan !" 

It  was  even  as  Eleas  told  us.  The  withered  little  man, 
whom  we  had  met  on  the  road,  was  the  victim  of  Yusef 's  mis- 
guided courage  ;  and  had  laid  his  complaint  before  the  Turk- 
ish authorities  that  morning.  Yusef  was  accordingly  seized, 
as  already  stated,  and  put  in  jail. 

The  American  consul,  in  compliance  with  our  request, 
sent  for  Yusef;  who  was  accompanied  to  the  office  by  a 
guard  of  Turkish  soldiers.  There  was  much  talk  on  all  sides ; 
but  the  authorities  were  immovable.  Nothing  could  be  done. 
The  case  was  an  aggravated  one,  and  must  go  before  the 
Sultan.  It  was  for  the  Grand  Seignor  to  decide  what  was  to 
be  done  with  a  man  so  inspired  with  courage  that  he  could 
not  pass  a  decrepit  old  Turk  on  the  road  without  attempt- 
ing to  kill  him.  The  consul  did  all  in  his  power ;  we  said 
and  did  all  we  could  ;  the  friends  of  Yusef  wept  all  they  could. 
It  was  to  no  purpose ;  the  laws  of  the  land  must  take  their 
course.  Poor  Yusef !  No  more  was  he  Yusef  the  Brave ! 
Yusef  the  Destroyer  of  Robbers  !  Throughout  Beirut  he  was 
now,  "  Poor  Yusef!" — nothing  but  "  Poor  Yusef!" 

We  went  to  his  prison.  There  he  sat  behind  the  bars, 
surrounded  by  thieves  and  vagrants,  and  stared  at  by  the  idle 
rabble  outside,  crushed  down  in  body  and  soul.  The  big  tears 
rolled  down  his  cheeks.  When  he  saw  us  he  covered  his  face 
'  and  groaned  :  "  My  niece  did  it,  gentlemen  ;  she  made  ma 
drunk.  All  my  misfortunes  have  come  from  devils  in  the 
form  of  angels.  Take  warning,  0  Howadji,  and  never  put 
faith  in  woman  !"  We  told  him  how  sorry  we  were  that  we 


420  A.  CRUSADE  ifl  THE  EAST. 

could  do  nothing  for  him  ;  that  he  was  a  very  pitiable  object 
to  be  sure,  but  he  could  only  blame  himself  for  it ;  that  it 
would  be  greatly  to  his  advantage  in  the  end,  perhaps,  to 
spend  some  time  in  prison,  inasmuch  as  it  would  enable  him 
to  refrain  from  visiting  his  nieces,  and  save  him  from  the 
mortification  of  being  made  drunk  on  arrack ;  that  confine- 
ment has  its  pleasures  as  well  as  its  pains  ;  and  should  he  be 
kept  in  jail  six  months  it  would  doubtless  be  a  continual 
source  of  satisfaction  to  him  to  reflect  upon  the  blood  of  the 
six  Bedouins  he  had  slain,  and  anticipate  the  pleasure  of  kill- 
ing six  more  as  soon  as  he  was  set  at  liberty ;  in  short,  that 
although  he  would  present  a  most  pitiful  and  heart-rending 
sight  behind  the  bars,  to  all  his  pretty  nieces  who  might 
chance  to  pass  that  way,  and  was  a  fit  subject  of  commiser- 
ation for  all  the  muleteers  whom  he  had  beaten  on  the  road, 
yet  that,  considering  the  thing  in  its  proper  light,  there  was 
every  reason  to  congratulate  himself,  inasmuch  as  he  would 
be  comfortably  provided  for  in  the  way  of  bread  and  water, 
and  not  suffered  to  spend  his  money  extravagantly,  for  it 
would  all  be  taken  care  of,  and  properly  appropriated  to  the 
use  of  the  Turkish  authorities,  arid  that  of  the  old  man  whom 
he  had  beaten  on  the  road. 

Having  thus  afforded  all  the  consolation  in  our  power  to 
the  unfortunate  Yusef,  we  bade  him  a  kindly  farewell,  never 
more,  perhaps,  to  see  his  familiar  face  again.  The  steamer 
for  Alexandria,  was  already  getting  up  steam. 

We  returned  to  Demetrie's,  with  a  crowd  of  Arabs  after  us, 
who  still  cried  out  to  us,  as  if  they  thought  the  Howadji  all- 
powerful,  "  0  save  poor  Yusef  Badra  !  0  Howadji !  Howadji ! 
take  pity  upon  poor  Yusef  Badra !  the  friend  of  our  heart ! 
the  joy  and  pride  of  Beirut !" 

As  we  sat  down  to  our  last  dinner  at  the  hotel,  Doctor 
Mendoza  and  the  Madam  entered.  They  had  arrived  the 
day  before  us.  They  were  delighted  at  the  happy  termina- 
tion of  the  voyage  through  Syria;  Doctor  Mendoza  said  that' 
the  Madam  was  a  little  indispose,  in  consequence  of  the  horse- 
fight  at  Tantura,  which  had  disordered  his  (the  Madam's) 
nerves ;  but  he  would  be  well  directly. 


RISE,  DECLINE,  AND  FALL  OF  YUSEF  BADRA.     421 

Doctor  Mendoza  had,  with  his  customary  kindness  of  heart, 
evinced  the  most  profound  concern  for  the  fate  of  our  drago-. 
man  from  the  moment  he  had  heard  of  his  arrest  by  the 
Turkish  soldiers.  He  went  to  the  Portuguese  consul's  that 
afternoon,  before  the  steamer  sailed,  and  stated  the  whole 
case  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  Yusef 's  release.  On  his  return 
he  popped  his  head  in  at  the  door  of  our  room,  where  we  sat 
smoking  our  chiboucks,  and  lamenting  the  unhappy  fate  of 
the  Destroyer  of  Robbers.  With  a  clouded  brow  and  despond- 
ing voice,  he  told  us  of  the  interview  : 

"  I  have  speak  my  consul  for  your  dragoman.  No-ting 
can  be  done.  She  are  necess  to  remain  in  jail,  because  she 
can  not  get  out.  No  more  she  shall  voyage  at  present.  Tis 
imposs.  It  will  be  necess  for  her  to  remain  tranquil.  Very 
bad  hotel  in  jail,  because  it  are  without  the  convenience  for 
eat  and  sleep.  Consequent  she  shall  die.  Dis  is  all.  No 
more  at  present  she  shall  get  out.  I  am  very  sorry,  but — 
'tis  imposs  !" 


\ 

THE  END  OF  YUSEF. 


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